Less Restrictive Alternatives

A less restrictive alternative, or LRA, is a court-ordered housing option where a person lives in a setting that is not as strict as the SCC’s total confinement facility on McNeil Island. An LRA is only used when a judge authorizes it. 

The rules for an LRA are set in RCW 71.09.020 and RCW 71.09.092.

In most cases, a resident must first become eligible for an LRA. To be eligible, a forensic evaluator must find, in an annual review, that the placement is in the resident’s best interest and that conditions can be imposed to ensure community safety. The resident then petitions the court for an LRA. The Department of Corrections then investigates the proposed placement and files a report with the court recommending additional conditions and restrictions for the person. The prosecutors in the case often obtain an expert to assess the plan and offer an opinion on whether it is in the person's best interests and adequate to protect the community. All parties collaborate to establish supervision conditions, which are then reviewed by the court. The superior court also has an obligation to "impose any additional conditions necessary to ensure compliance with treatment and to protect the community" (RCW 70.09.096[SO1]). Ultimately, courts approve the conditions and order the release of a resident to an LRA.

The exception to this process would be when a resident works directly with their defense attorney to directly petition the court for release to an LRA without a forensic evaluator’s finding that an LRA placement is in the resident’s best interest and without SCC CEO’s authorization to petition the court.

“Fair share principles" and "fair share principles of release” mean that each county in Washington state should have adequate options for conditional release housing so that people granted conditional release are not disproportionately placed in any particular county. RCW 71.09.020(2) governs these principles.

DSHS is required to first look for options within the county where the resident committed their crime, also known as the county of commitment. If no options exist, then DSHS must look for housing options in other counties while considering fair share principles. A resident’s defense attorney is not required to consider a resident’s county of commitment or “fair share principles” and may develop an LRA plan anywhere housing exists in the state. This LRA plan must still be approved and ordered by the court.

A great deal of effort goes into making sure releases of residents to LRAs are done safely. Residents released on LRAs are subject to stringent monitoring requirements and supervision. They are uniformly required to be on GPS monitoring. Additionally, they are often further required to be escorted by an approved monitoring adult to chaperone them during any trips outside of their immediate residence. All trips must be pre-approved. They are required to attend treatment, report in person to their supervising DOC officer weekly, submit travel plans in advance for any trips into the community, and have the destination sites surveyed by DOC. Residents released on LRAs are also subject to a long list of court-imposed requirements related to their specific risks and offense patterns. This is a much higher level of supervision than what is ordinarily imposed upon regular level three sex offenders who are not subject to civil commitment. If a person on LRA violates any of these conditions, they may be returned to McNeil Island.

Team Assigned

• Residents on an LRA have a team assigned to them that consists of a DOC corrections specialist, an SCC social worker and a certified sex offender treatment provider.
• This team meets with the resident as a team once a month or more as needed.
• The individual members of the team have frequent contact with the resident, resulting in, at a minimum, weekly contacts.

Reporting Violations

• Each of the individuals on the team and the housing provider are required to report any violations to the court and parties involved.
• If the resident violates a condition of their LRA as dictated by the court, SCC, and DOC staff have the authority to return the resident to the SCC.
• Violations of conditions do not mean that a resident has committed a new crime. Instead, violations of conditions could include not returning to the residence by the established curfew, looking at an unauthorized website or traveling outside of their restricted area. Additionally, if at any time a modification to the LRA is in the community’s or the resident’s best interest, the SCC, the state, or the resident’s defense attorney can ask the court for a modification to placement.  

Conditions ordered by the court are long and thorough. These conditions are, by law, based on each resident's needs. Each case is managed by a team that reviews the resident’s history and monitors compliance.

The team has several options when addressing violations of any conditions. These include, but are not limited to:

• Return to McNeil Island.
• Movement restriction to specific areas of the community.
• Restriction to the residence other than court-mandated trips (e.g., legal, medical, therapy).
• Therapeutic mitigation (treatment provider assigns a particular assignment or activity).

The severity of the violation will determine the response. For any violation that presents an imminent safety risk to the community, the resident is returned to McNeil Island.

All LRA cases are under the jurisdiction of the court. There is no set time for how long a resident must be under the court order. Most residents at the SCC will reside in the facility on McNeil Island and participate in treatment programs for several years before transitioning to an LRA. The resident may petition the court for unconditional release once per year. A resident can only be unconditionally released if they are found to no longer meet SVP criteria as explained in Question 1.

RCW 71.09.335 requires the SCC to provide local law enforcement with 30 days' notice of a resident's release. Local law enforcement is responsible for determining the appropriate level of community notification and whether to hold a community notification meeting (RCW 4.24.550). DOC, DSHS, the local sheriff’s department, and the local police department collaborate to ensure the community is safe and has appropriate information.

Secure community transition facilities have specific operating and security requirements determined by law (RCW 71.09.250 [SO1] through .330, and .341-.344). Currently, there are only two state-operated SCTF facilities that meet these requirements: one on McNeil Island (Pierce County) and one in Seattle's SoDo District (King County).

Community housing for LRAs is operated by private providers and may also offer 24-hour staffing and trained escorts. The staff and any other community chaperones are all subject to background checks.

No. There is no plan to close the total confinement facility on McNeil Island. Some residents transition from the Total Confinement Facility on McNeil Island to less restrictive alternatives. Our clients have served their criminal sentence and are being held under civil law.  In order to abide by the 5th Amendment (which states that people cannot be deprived of their liberty without due process of law), residents are entitled to a yearly evaluation to determine if they still meet criteria for commitment and if a less restrictive alternative is in their best interest and if conditions can be imposed that adequately protect the community (RCW 71.09.090[SO1]).

There is no alternative to a conditional release. Based on the statue, the constitution, and case law, residents have a right to an LRA if deemed appropriate and ordered by the court.

DSHS is required to develop these housing options (RCW 71.09.097[SO1]). However, LRA housing providers are not required to have a contract with DSHS to accept residents. Contracts help DSHS hold contractors accountable to the conditions outlined in the court order. Additional oversight standards and deliverables required in a contract include, but are not limited to, DSHS policy compliance, funding oversight in accordance with DSHS policy, compliance with reporting and documentation expectations, and maintenance of the environment of care.

Before the court orders any conditional release to a less restrictive alternative, it first orders an investigation into the potential residence. This investigation is done by DOC. A community corrections specialist then provides an investigative report to the court that includes a description of the land and property, and its distance from schools, churches, bus stops, grocery stores, alcohol and cannabis stores, bars and taverns, day cares, parks, and other public spaces of concern. This investigative report also includes DOC’s recommendations for any conditions or restrictions for the resident being released from a more restrictive setting. Upon completion, DOC files its report with the court.

The court then decides whether the placement is appropriate and determines the final conditions and restrictions of the resident’s release. 

State agencies such as DOC do not approve or deny the placement. This is the job of the court. DOC’s role is to provide information to the court, including potential risk factors and recommended conditions.

The End of Sentence Review Committee, made up of multi-agency stakeholders including law enforcement and mental health professionals, reviews the resident’s criminal history, medical and psychiatric history, and treatments received to determine the initial sex offender level. This recommendation is sent to the county sheriff’s office. The sheriff’s office decides whether to affirm or change that level.

DOC relies on the court order to direct how the resident is supervised. The court imposes comprehensive and specific conditions. Residents released on an LRA are required to be in contact with a DOC community corrections specialist. Other conditions include:
•    Wearing an ankle bracelet continuously throughout the term of supervision. These devices, called Global Positions Systems or GPS, always track the location of the resident – 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If the resident goes out of bounds, an alert is triggered, and DOC is immediately notified. A community corrections specialist is always on call to monitor and respond to any alerts.
•    Calling their community corrections specialist when leaving and arriving to and from any destination.
•    Following a strict curfew.
•    Having itineraries for travel pre-approved and including approved routes that are monitored by GPS in real time.
•    Having all potential travel vetted and surveyed by DOC through the multi-agency transition team (community corrections officer, sex offender treatment provider, mental health provider, housing provider and DSHS staff).
•    Conducting face-to-face, in-person, home and community visits.
•    Maintaining communication between DOC and the resident by phone.
•    Conducting random drug and alcohol tests.
•    Conducting periodic risk assessments of the LRA.
•    Clearly defining which people are approved or prohibited from contacting residents.
•    Approving all chaperones.
 

There are usually upwards of 50 different conditions of supervision under an LRA. Each case is managed by a Residential Community Transition Team that includes a DOC community corrections specialist. This team reviews and monitors the resident’s compliance and has several options when there is a violation, including:
•    Returning the resident to total confinement on McNeil Island.
•    Restricting the resident’s movement to specific areas of the community.
•    Prohibiting the resident from leaving the residence except for court-mandated trips (legal, medical, therapy).
•    Making changes to the resident’s treatment plan.
•    Increasing the use of chaperones while in the community.

The severity of the violation determines the level of response. For any violation that presents an imminent safety risk to the community, DOC will immediately return the resident to confinement regardless of whether the RCTT has been consulted. Any time there is a violation of the court order, regardless of how severe, DOC provides a written report to the court outlining the behaviors and proposed remedy.  
 

RCW 71.09.130 addresses the steps to be taken if a resident escapes. Escaping from LRA is a felony offense. If a resident is found to have traveled outside of approved routes and cannot be contacted, the community corrections specialist is notified in real time. DOC and local law enforcement immediately begin to search for the resident. Additionally, the county prosecutor and the civil court prosecutor are notified immediately.