Washington State law requires that a defendant be mentally competent to stand trial. In following the Dusky Standard definition (adopted by Washington), the defendant must have a rational and factual understanding of the charges and the penalties associated with the charges against them. They must be able to meaningfully assist their attorney in their own defense. When competence is questioned, the court may order a competency evaluation. Our office performs these specialized competency evaluations in jails, the communities and at the Behavioral Health Administration’s state hospitals and competency restoration programs.
Community competency evaluations — evaluations conducted in the community, not by DSHS evaluators, may be ordered by courts and are reimbursed by DSHS, per WAC 388-875-0040. The rates of reimbursement are set out, as determined fair and reasonable by the secretary, in a fee schedule that is reviewed by OFMHS at least annually and adjusted at the discretion of OFMHS. Please refer questions regarding the procedure for billing DSHS for reimbursement to Rusty Horton at rusty.horton@dshs.wa.gov.