A decade of reports, studies,
and community engagement
on Whatcom County justice planning.

Key Recommendations Retain a qualified corrections planner; update and expand the 2008 Omni Group needs assessment to include inmate profiling, release-mechanism analysis, and population-management scenarios that the 2008 report had not evaluated; create a Criminal Justice Planning / Coordinating Committee; expand the planning options under consideration. Farbstein explicitly cautioned that the 2008 assessment's omissions risked over-building the jail, a theme that has recurred through every subsequent review.

Continuity Note Jay Farbstein continues to advise on Whatcom County justice facility planning. As of the April 2026 integrated presentation, he is listed as Senior Advisory Expert on the Erin Persky & Associates team conducting the Behavioral Health Analysis.

Context The IPRTF was established two years before the Vera Institute engagement and, with County leadership, helped commission the 2017 Vera report. Under RCW 72.09.300, the IPRTF also serves as Whatcom County's Law and Justice Council.

Key Findings Vera's analysis identified substantial pretrial detention of individuals who, in the report's assessment, could be safely managed in the community with appropriate support. The report characterized the jail as functioning as a default response to behavioral health and housing instability, and recommended expanded diversion infrastructure, pretrial reform, behavioral health investment, and creation of a formal task force to coordinate implementation.

Context Resolution 2019-036 sits in the governance sequence between the Vera Institute's 2017 report and Ordinance 2023-039. It articulated the dual commitment, facility replacement and upstream investment, that was subsequently formalized in the 2023 ordinance and the Interlocal Agreement.

Key Findings 1-year recidivism fell from 35% (2015) to 18% (2019), coinciding with the expansion of diversion programs. 2-year recidivism fell from 43% to approximately 23% over the same period. The report also found that unhoused individuals re-booked at a 67% higher rate than housed individuals, and that 12% of booked individuals were flagged as suicide risk.

Contents Captures incarcerated respondents' perspectives on conditions of incarceration, service needs, and circumstances relevant to reducing future contact with the justice system. Housing, substance use treatment, and mental health services were among the most frequently cited unmet needs.

Contents Inventory of behavioral health programs and partnerships operating in and alongside the jail as of July 2022, including in-custody mental health services, MOUD programming, DVSAS services, and coordination with external community and tribal providers.

Contents Average daily population, bookings, charge composition, release patterns, length-of-stay distributions, and operational trends for calendar year 2023. Produced annually by the Sheriff's Office.

Key Provisions Establishes the FFAB, IPRTF advisory structure, and biennial Implementation Plan process. Contains an expansion trigger at Sections 5.1(c) and 9.4 (85% capacity for 8 of any 12 consecutive months). Uses "intends" and "requests" language regarding upstream investment; the specific 50% floor for upstream investment is contained in the ILA rather than in the ordinance itself.

Key Contents Lists 13+ specific project areas including LEAD, GRACE, Street Medicine, pretrial services, diversion programs, and the Behavioral Care Center. Assigns responsible parties and initial estimates of costs and potential funding sources for each project.

Scope The research examined community values and priorities relating to jail replacement, behavioral health investment, and the relationship between the two. Results informed the Ordinance 2023-039 planning process.

Revenue Performance Note Actual 2024 sales tax growth was negative, compared to the 5.0% annual growth rate assumed in the financing projections. The variance reduces projected revenue over the bond period and is a factor in ongoing ILA financial discussions.

Contents Average daily population, bookings, charge composition, release patterns, length-of-stay distributions, and operational trends for calendar year 2024. Covers the first full year of the post-Ordinance 2023-039 period.

Key Provisions The ILA sets the terms for jail use, cost allocation, and financing among the County and the seven cities. The 50% floor for upstream investment is contained in the ILA (with the ordinance using "intends" and "requests" language on the same subject). The ILA is subject to periodic renegotiation.

Methodological Note The DLZ study's projections are based on the assumption of no changes in current incarceration practices, meaning the model does not incorporate the effects of existing or expanded diversion investment on future bed demand. This is explicit in the report's scope and should be understood when comparing DLZ's projections to forecasts that do model practice change.

Key Themes Focus on criminal justice reform policy; use of influence to elevate recommendations; need for data systems to monitor and measure implementation; upstream solutions; re-entry and Medicaid benefits for incarcerated individuals.

Assumptions Note The financing models rely on a 5.0% annual sales tax growth assumption. 2024 actual sales tax growth was negative, diverging from the projection, a variance that compounds over the bond period.

Contents Operational rules defining which charge types may be booked at each jail population threshold. The document grounds policy discussion of booking restrictions in the actual operational framework rather than in secondhand descriptions.

Why It Matters The 2025 survey was designed to measure agreement about services and facility design features the incarcerated population needs and desires. Response rate: 28% of average daily population (349). This is the most current primary-source account from people currently held in the jail, directly informing BCC and facility design decisions.

Context Responds to Finding 8 of the IPRTF's October 2024 Review ("build data systems to monitor, measure, and inform") and to Project 3 of the Implementation Plan. The Performance Measurement Plan, once developed, will define the evaluation framework for the Justice Project.

Key Context Introduces project team Scenarios 5, 5a, 5b, and 6, four refined scenarios for the $205M jail budget, including a "balanced scenario," a slightly-reduced-capacity scenario, an expansion-pricing scenario, and a max-BH scenario with no capacity target. The memo frames the April decision as direction on budget and priorities rather than hardline scope parameters.

Key Findings, Primary Forecast The primary forecast projects bed need across a full 2030–2050 planning horizon: 422 beds (2030), 462 (2035), 505 (2040), 552 (2045), and 604 (2050). The 2050 figure houses a projected Average Daily Population (ADP) of 514, bed need exceeds ADP because of peaking factors (14.7% for females, 6.1% for males) and a 10% classification-separation allowance. The forecast assumes bookings increase from 14 per day today to 20.5 per day by 2050, and that the system maintains a 25-day ALOS (current ALOS is 24 days).

Methodological Notes The forecast is sensitive to both bookings and ALOS. At 20.5 bookings/day, 2050 bed need ranges from 458 (19-day ALOS) to 699 (29-day ALOS). At 26 bookings/day, the range is 581 to 886. The report notes that "there are some opportunities in the population to manage population size through diversion and deflection; the misdemeanant proportion of the population is higher than what we are seeing across the country." The report also notes: "this forecast should not be checked against the current jail's population in the months/years ahead" because it assumes ample capacity for bookings.

Key Recommendations Crisis Relief Center (CRC): 22 spaces (recliners, cots, quiet rooms) serving an estimated ~35 clients/day; 39.5 FTEs; $7.3M annual operating cost; low-end revenue gap ~$500,000. Co-Occurring Disorders (COD) Facility: 32 beds in two units of 16, with potential for a third unit if demand develops before 2045; 32 FTEs; $5.2M annual operating cost; low-end revenue gap ~$365,000. Combined annual revenue gap estimated between ~$880,600 and $4.5M, with ongoing uncertainty around reimbursement mechanisms. The report notes a projected 20-bed ADP reduction attributable to prosecutorial diversion, with the explicit caveat that "this does not translate to 20 fewer beds to be built at the jail."

Scope Note The prosecutorial diversion analysis is described in the April 14 presentation as "in progress." EP&A indicates the numbers will be validated, updated as appropriate, and included in the Whatcom County Behavioral Health Analysis Service Model Recommendations report (March 20, 2026 report).

FFAB Budget Recommendation Following discussion of PFM's updated financing scenario at the April 9 FFAB meeting, including short-term revenue risks, long-term revenue risks, and interest rate volatility risks, the FFAB unanimously approved the following motion: "FFAB recommends that the County Council provide a budget cap of $225 million, with $205 million for the jail and $20 million for the behavioral care center for STV to show the County and its partners what can be done."

Community-Based Services Modeling The presentation includes a 2058 Projected Cumulative Totals pie chart showing a 4% sales tax growth model (described as "80% of the historical growth numbers for the past 30 years"). Under this model, the County projects "over 50% of collected revenues available for services over the life of the bond," with the remaining share allocated across jail construction, Behavioral Care Center, and small cities.

Integrated Forecast & BH Analysis The presentation contains the Pasquo forecast slides (see 2030–2050 bed-need range of 422–604 in the Pasquo entry above) and the EP&A Behavioral Health Analysis recommendations (CRC, COD, and PUC scope and cost detail, see BCC Final Report entry). Jay Farbstein is listed on the EP&A team as Senior Advisory Expert, a continuity thread from the 2011 Farbstein report.

Next Steps Articulated (1) Council resolution setting budget cap and values; (2) STV moves forward with programming efforts and alignment of scope and budget; (3) Council reviews proposed programming plan and alignment with budget in summer 2026. Schematic Design begins September 2026.

Scope DRW's AVID reports document conditions for people with disabilities held in Washington county and state facilities. Relevant as background context for policy discussion of the behavioral health population's experience of incarceration.