22 counties sue Washington State over failure to provide behavioral health treatment required by law

The coalition said in a release that as a result of repeated violations of court orders by the state, the coalition made up of 22 counties and the Washington State Association of Counties (WSAC) filed a lawsuit in Pierce County Superior Court against the Washington Department of Social and Health Services over the department’s decision to stop providing initial evaluation and subsequent treatment for a rising number of patients in need of behavioral health support when exiting the criminal legal system.

The counties have also filed a motion for preliminary injunction to compel DSHS’s immediate compliance with state law and court orders. The coalition includes Asotin, Clallam, Cowlitz, Douglas, Grant, Grays Harbor, Island, Jefferson, King, Kitsap, Klickitat, Lewis, Lincoln, Pacific, Pierce, Skagit, Skamania, Snohomish, Spokane, Thurston, Whatcom, and Yakima Counties.

According to a release from King County, “When a person with a serious mental health condition or cognitive disability has their charges dismissed because they are unable to understand the charges, DSHS is ordered by the court to evaluate that individual and if necessary, provide effective behavioral health treatment. This system, called a civil conversion commitment, focuses on people with severe behavioral health conditions who have not been adequately served by the crisis and outpatient behavioral health system.”

“Despite court orders and state laws requiring them to do so, DSHS has asserted that it is no longer obligated to either evaluate or treat patients whose criminal charges are dismissed, citing a federal judge’s orders in a separate case. To date, the agency has repeatedly argued that it will not follow what appear to be clear statutory and court-ordered legal requirements, leaving hundreds of individuals across the state to lose their chance for mental health treatment that might break the cycle of re-offense.”

“Charges are dropped against individuals when they are determined to be not competent to stand trial and the state fails to provide restoration services or is unable to restore their competency. The individuals are then released back into the community without facing justice, nor receiving the treatment courts have ordered. When DSHS fails to provide restoration services, individuals are referred back to their home counties to designated crisis responders, placing the burden of care on counties despite state law requiring the state to do so. These releases further a harmful cycle where the state does not meet its responsibility of care and leaves individuals at risk to re-offend, repeating the legal process without any interruption for care and treatment.”

The release cited the Trueblood case in which as a result of failing to follow its legal obligations, DSHS was held in contempt and the federal court imposed a $100 million fine.

The King County Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement to The Post Millennial, “In King County alone, there are currently more than 250 felony defendants awaiting competency determinations on charges that include serious felony crimes such as murder, sexual assault, felony domestic violence charges, felony assaults, gun crimes, arson, and many others. If any of these defendants are deemed incompetent to stand trial and cannot be restored to competency, their felony cases are dismissed. This poses a serious risk to public safety.”

“And yet, the State is currently not admitting these felony defendants to State hospitals or to other DSHS and DSHS-contracted facilities so that they may receive competency restoration and other mental health treatment. This gap in our the existing state systems poses a significant risk to defendants who are in need of services and to our communities. Unless this gap is addressed, more felony defendants will be released directly into the community without the necessary treatment and supervision they require.”

“Under the Involuntary Treatment Act, local Designated Crisis Responders lack the legal basis that DSHS or DSHS-contracted facilities have to detain most felony defendants before their release from state facilities or jail. Moreover, local evaluation and treatment facilities, along with community mental health providers, are ill-equipped and underfunded to handle this population. Consequently, the unplanned release of numerous felony defendants directly into the community poses immediate public safety risks, increases the likelihood of new violent and impulsive acts committed by individuals with behavioral health issues, and leaves many vulnerable defendants unable to meet their own basic needs in the community.”

The request for a preliminary injunction filed last week asked the court to immediately order DSHS to comply with its obligations under state law. The Counties’ motion for a preliminary injunction may be heard as early as September 8 in Pierce County Superior Court.