Spokane has its sights set on two very different programs to curb crime and homelessness – Washington

(The Center Square) – Spokane is considering two programs that could mitigate the impact of homelessness and addiction on the community, but one focuses on accountability through incarceration while the other is largely voluntary.

The Spokane City Council was scheduled to discuss Councilman Michael Cathcart’s proposal during a committee meeting Monday. However, due to a request from the city attorney’s office, the item was postponed until next month for further discussion.

Cathcart’s high-utilizer program would identify the city’s top 75 repeat offenders and expedite their trials. This would result in high users not being admitted to community court and being exempt from county jail “red light” status when there is excess capacity.

“High consumers are not subject to the booking restrictions that apply to other municipal defendants,” Monday’s agenda states. “High users receive priority for admission to prison for criminal offenses, outstanding warrants or other legal action.”

Typically, the Community Court handles cases involving illegal camping and other minor crimes. These defendants are typically cited and released, but some fall through the cracks and have received other warrants or similar charges in recent weeks, months or years for which they could also face time.

Cathcart’s program seeks to remedy this by also limiting the number of times a defendant can be sued in community court, even if they are not identified as a high-user.

“No defendant may be referred to community court more than once in any 8-month period and no more than three times in any 36-month period,” Monday’s agenda reads.

The regulation is not just about serving time or being accountable in that way; It also includes a provision requiring the city and county to work with addiction treatment programs, mental health services and housing providers to help those with high addiction potential.

Mayor Lisa Brown is also pushing for her own version of a high-volume program called Hot Spotters Community Care Coordination. Their approach focuses more on case management and outreach services, standing by whenever someone decides it’s time to get help.

Spokane issued a request for proposals for the mayor’s program last month, which is due Oct. 14. The RFP aims to find a contractor “interested in facilitating data sharing and data extraction to identify high-performing users in the medical, housing and criminal justice sectors.”

The contractor will then provide case management services for up to 50 patients with high levels of opioid use disorder while also meeting with providers to address clients’ needs and barriers to care.

“The team will work with the patient until the outcome of the care coordination is achieved, or for up to three months,” the RFP states. “The coordination of Hot Spotters care is voluntary; the patient can withdraw from the team’s services at any time.”

Spokane is currently offering a similar initiative with Consistent Care as part of Brown’s emergency declaration in June. This new RFP seeks to expand the idea of ​​the program.

However, unlike Cathcart’s program, Brown’s RFP does not mention provisions to relieve the burden on the community court due to the increasing caseload outside of this case management. The only mention of community court in the RFP relates to monthly case conference meetings.

Under the RFP, the contractor could provide interventions through outreach care coordination, emergency management, opioid use disorder medication, housing-first model, long-acting injectable antipsychotics for schizophrenia, and overdose care coordination.

“Patients who are unavailable for two weeks will be delisted to make room for cooperative patients awaiting care coordination services,” the RFP states.