Follow the lack of available money being offered for services over jails / Noisy Waters Northwest

Click the screenshot showing Council Member Dan Hammill from a recording of the June 6, 2023 Bellingham City Council Committee of the Whole meeting to access that video on YouTube

June 7, 2023 Dena Jensen

Bellingham City Council Member Dan Hammill made remarks at the Council’s Committee of the Whole meeting on Monday this week that included information about two different funding sources Whatcom County has that offer the potential to invest in behavioral health efforts up to around ten million dollars a year.

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Working on ongoing communication between Justice Project partners and the community / Email to the Whatcom County Incarceration Prevention and Reduction Task Force

Click the graphic to access Whatcom County’s 5/31/23 draft of the Justice Project Implementation Plan

June 1, 2023 Dena Jensen

This week the Whatcom County Council put out a news flash announcement requesting that community members provide feedback to the Incarceration Prevention and Reduction Task Force about the draft version of the Justice Project Implementation Plan. I sent an email in today that will be included in this blog post.

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Where should funds for Justice Project social services come from? / Noisy Waters Northwest

June 1, 2023 Dena Jensen

Here’s some information relevant to funding for recommended actions related to behavioral health services and facilities, among other things, in the draft Justice Project Implementation Plan. (Link to the draft plan: https://www.whatcomcounty.us/…/Implementation-Plan… ) Whatcom County’s Incarceration Prevention and Reduction Task Force is seeking feedback from community members about the draft implementation plan, now through June 11, 2023.

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Whatcom County Incarceration Prevention and Reduction Task Force 2023 searchable meeting summaries / Noisy Waters Northwest

May 21, 2023 Dena Jensen

In this post you will find the content of the meeting summaries of the Whatcom County Incarceration Prevention and Reduction Task Force that are currently available so far for 2023. This is a period when the focus of the Task Force has more prominently centered on the intersection of their work with Whatcom County’s Justice Project.

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Whatcom County Justice Project Stakeholder Advisory Committee 2022-2023 searchable meeting summaries / Noisy Waters Northwest

May 1, 2023 Dena Jensen

Over the next few months, our community will have a more intensive opportunity to review and speak out about the process (and outcome of that process) by which Whatcom County Council has come to accept recommendations, and potentially propose funding, for a new jail along with mental and behavioral health services related to incarceration and reducing and preventing incarceration.

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Sheriff candidate Chadwick favors property to double suggested jail size in future / Noisy Waters Northwest

April 24, 2023 Dena Jensen

Here’s something to be aware of. The current Whatcom County Undersheriff, Doug Chadwick, who also is one of the candidates running to replace Bill Elfo as Sheriff in the November 2023 election, indicated that he wants to ensure that the County will be able to double the size of a proposed new jail in the years ahead and favors building on a property that would accommodate the size of a horizontal design, i.e. the property purchased for a jail in Ferndale years ago.

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Current Whatcom County Justice Project needs assessment was not comprehensive / Noisy Waters Northwest

Click the screenshot from a portion of the Summary section The Vida Agency Draft Research Report Justice Project Engagement Findings to access the draft report

March 23, 2023 Dena Jensen

Here is an excerpt from Stakeholder Advisory Committee (SAC) for the Whatcom County Justice Project December 15, 2022 10:00 – 12:00 pm Meeting Minutes

“TVA [The Vida Agency who created the Public Engagement Plan for the needs assessment] conducted 6 listening sessions with 29 participants, and 8 informal interviews. The participants included representatives of immigrant communities, Lummi Nation, and formerly incarcerated people and their families.

• It is important to keep in mind the small sample size when interpreting the results.”

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Reordering Justice Project Stakeholder Advisory Committee facility recommendations / Letter to Whatcom County Council and the SAC

March 6, 2023 Dena Jensen

On February 21, 2021 Whatcom County Council voted 7-0 to approve a resolution accepting the the Justice Project Needs Assessment Report. The report includes many recommendations developed during the Stakeholder Advisory Committee needs assessment process, including one to “build a new jail.” The County will now be moving forward with an implementation plan. The resolution states that part of the plan will be efforts to hear our input.

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