One of the best ways to keep people with behavioral health challenges out of the criminal court system is to get them the help and resources they need before a crime is committed.
One avenue for this is diversion programs. DSHS and the Health Care Authority, through the DSHS vs. Trueblood lawsuit, have created several programs to divert people away from the criminal court system so they can get the care they need when they need it.
These include:
- Crisis triage and stabilization facilities.
- Co-responder programs that pair behavioral health professionals with police officers for calls related to behavioral health.
- Crisis intervention training for law enforcement officers.
- Certified peer counselors.
- Diversion navigators.
- Prosecutorial Diversion Programs.
Ideally, diversion happens before a crime is committed, but when that is not the case, behavioral health professionals and law enforcement can use the Sequential Intercept Model to keep people with behavioral health needs out of jail
The Behavioral Health and Habilitation Administration offers three diversion programs for people who have been arrested and whose competency is being questioned.
- Prosecutorial Diversion Program
The Prosecutorial Diversion Program creates a pathway to divert people, particularly those charged with misdemeanor and low-level felony offenses, from court involvement and incarceration by instead connecting them to intensive services within their community.
Program overview
People with behavioral health issues are overrepresented in the criminal court system. High arrest and recidivism rates act as barriers to the recovery of these people. This is costly and time-consuming for law enforcement, jails, and courts, and it impacts public perception of safety.
DSHS contracts for PDP services that serve Spokane, King, and Benton/Franklin counties. The program engages prosecutors, defense attorneys and behavioral health providers to jointly review and consider a case for the program.For a case to be accepted into the program, each party and the client must sign a program participation agreement. These agreements specify a set of services in which the client will participate.
The behavioral health provider team agrees to coordinate those services and provide intensive case management for the client. In exchange, the prosecutor agrees to either not file charges or dismiss charges without prejudice at the time of signing the agreement and agrees to dismiss those charges with prejudice if the client successfully completes the program (typically six to 12 months).
Without prejudice means that the charges can still be pursued if the client does not meet their obligations under the release conditions and program participation requirements. With prejudice means that the charges cannot be pursued any longer.
Eligibility requirements
The PDP serves people with identified behavioral health needs who have been arrested and for whom the question of competence to stand trial has been raised.
Authority
Chapter 10.77 Revised Code of Washington outlines the requirements for competency services and provides authority for prosecutors to dismiss charges either pre or post-fling of charges.
Numbers Served
Collectively, these programs can serve approximately 200 people per year.
- Diversion Services Coordinators
Diversion Services Coordinators help the state explore new approaches to improving access and connection to community diversion pathways, which can help reduce the involvement of people who have serious behavioral health conditions with the criminal court system.
A Diversion Services Coordinator is classified as a psychiatric social worker who is embedded in a county jail or detention facility as a member of the facility’s multi-disciplinary team.
The primary role for a diversion services coordinator is to meet with and identify people awaiting competency services in the jail who may be good candidates for diversion services and a conditional release into the community. As part of those services, the DCS works with existing medical and behavioral health staff in the jail, coordinates with attorneys and other internal and external partners, and provides support in the enrollment processes of programs to which they are referred. They may also monitor engagement in diversion services and provide formal reports to the court and/or testify on the status and progress of the people enrolled in diversion services.
Diversion Services Coordinators also dedicate time to their surrounding communities to locate people released on personal recognizance by the courts. They then work to connect them to ordered competency services and ensure a warm handoff to forensic or diversion navigators, forensic evaluators, and community programs and providers.
These innovative positions are part of a pilot currently funded through June 2027 within DSHS’ Office of Forensic Mental Health Services.
Partners
- Washington State Health Care Authority
- SCORE Detention Center
- Spokane County Jail
- Community-based Service Providers
- Law enforcement agencies
- Judges, attorneys, and court staff
More information
Contact Jason Karpen, BHHA Diversion Services Administrator at jason.karpen@dshs.wa.gov or 360-529-6116.
- Diversion Navigator Program
Diversion navigators are part of a program under DSHS’ Office of Forensic Mental Health Services. They help identify people in jail who may qualify for diversion programs. They also help divert people from the competency process, breaking the cycle of criminal re-offense by offering wraparound services and assisting them for up to 6 months as they engage in services. Per RCW 10.77.610, diversion navigators will meet, interview, and observe eligible clients to identify their unmet needs in the community. Diversion navigators will offer a diversion plan to people who meet their identified needs through resources and referrals, including mental health, substance use, physical health, housing support, vocational support, and other services available in the community as needed. These individualized diversion plans can result in the dismissal of criminal charges by agreement of the parties, and services will be put in place to support the person’s stability in the community and prevent further involvement with the court system.
Eligibility requirements
People with two or more cases dismissed due to a finding of incompetency to stand trial in the preceding 24 months and who are at risk for a finding of incompetency under their current charge. People charged with a misdemeanor and up to a class C felony, excluding:
- Felony physical control of a vehicle.
- Felony hit and run resulting in injury.
- Assault in the third degree (with criminal negligence causes bodily harm by means of a weapon or other instrument).
- Assault in the third degree (with criminal negligence causes bodily harm and substantial pain for a period causing considerable suffering).
- A hate crime offense.
- A class C felony with a domestic violence designation.
- A class C felony sex offense.
- A class C felony with a sexual motivation allegation.
Authority
See SB5440 SEC 10 and RCW 10.77.610.Partners
- Health Care Authority
- Courts
- City and county jails
- Community-based service providers
- Law enforcement agencies
More information
Contact Diversion Navigator Program at dshsbha.DiversionNavigators@dshs.wa.gov. Learn more about the diversion navigator process.
- Diversion resources in Washington
- Central Washington Catholic Charities Diversion Programs
- Clark County Diversion Program
- Community Integrated Health Services Trueblood Diversion
- Criminal Justice Coordinating Council Post-Charge Diversion and Deferred Prosecution Program
- King County Diversion and Reentry Services
- Pierce County Trueblood Diversion Program
- Snohomish County Diversion Center
- Snohomish County Felony Diversion Program
- Spokane County Diversion Program
- Thurston County Diversion Program
- Thurston County Pretrial Services
- Treatment Advocacy Center
- Washington Diversion Courts Directory