Civil commitment units
The Maple Lane campus has two units that serve civilly committed residents: Oak Unit and Baker Unit.
Oak Unit
Baker Unit
Civil commitment
Behavioral Health and Treatment Centers treat residents who are civilly committed for 90 to 180 days. These orders may be extended by the court. Learn more about civil commitment.
Residents in Baker Unit have been civilly committed following a finding of incompetence to stand trial for a felony classified as violent under state law RCW 9.94A.030.
The role of the Behavioral Health and Treatment Center, or BHTC, is to provide inpatient psychiatric care to people in need. Our commitment is to create a safe and secure therapeutic environment where residents can receive the treatment they need to recover and successfully return to their communities. Our deeply held value is to provide person-centered care, recognizing the humanity in every resident. We use this approach in all aspects of treatment and daily resident care.
Our residents
Our mission is to treat people in need of inpatient psychiatric care. Our residents are civilly committed for 90 to 180 days, and the court may extend the commitment.
Types of civil residents
A civil commitment is one of the two routes for admission to a state psychiatric facility in Washington. A patient is civilly committed when the court agrees with a mental health professional’s clinical assessment that a person is an imminent risk to themselves or others, or they are deemed gravely disabled due to a mental illness. The related statute is RCW 71.05. Discharge planning begins as soon as a patient is admitted.
A small number of conversion patients at Maple Lane Campus have been civilly committed following a finding of incompetence to stand trial for a felony classified as violent under RCW 9.94A.030.
People who have been determined to have committed a violent felony offense may be civilly committed under additional grounds pursuant to RCW 71.05.280.
For these patients, the court has found that their mental illness or developmental disability contributed to violent acts. Their civil commitment may be extended based on evidence that the person continues to suffer from a mental health disorder or developmental disability that results in a substantial likelihood of committing violent acts in the future.
Learn more about the civil commitment process.
Our program
BHTC residents live in a secure setting, remaining within the facility and the surrounding enclosed area for the entirety of their care.
We offer services and activities that are respectful and inclusive to people of all cultures and backgrounds. These services include:
- Initial intake and evaluation.
- Medical, psychiatric, and risk screenings.
- Complete psychological, biological, and social evaluations.
- Treatment and peer support.
Our goal is to stabilize each person’s condition and improve their mental health and behavior. We strive to help residents recover so they can return to their home or transition to a less restrictive living environment with appropriate aftercare services.
All residents receive thorough individualized discharge plans designed to support their successful reintegration into the community. These plans include wraparound services such as medication management, case management, and medical care.
Discharged residents receive a warm handoff to their next placement, including transportation to their new residence from DSHS.
Resident access and off-campus trips
Residents may leave the unit only for scheduled off-site trips related to medical or essential needs, such as visits to a local hospital, medical appointments, or housing-related meetings. All off-campus trips are carefully planned and include staff escorts to ensure residents’ safety and support. At this time, residents otherwise remain within the unit, but they do have access to an enclosed, fenced yard for exercise and recreation.