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Bill Would Create Pilot Program to Fight Opioid Addiction, Crime and Homelessness

The Chronicle - 12/30/2017

Dec. 30--A bill pre-filed in advance of the 2018 legislative session would create a pilot program in Snohomish County intended to address several critical social health concerns.

Rep. Dave Hayes, a Republican from Camano Island, has prepared House Bill 2287 in hopes that the program will find bipartisan support early in the upcoming session, which begins in January. That program is intended to bring centralized services that address issues of opioid addiction, behavioral health treatment, housing, employment and other community health needs.

The bill would create a new criminal justice system diversion central pilot program that would be funded through a state grant administered by the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs. According to Hayes, the diversion program would be operated through a partnership between the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office and the Snohomish County Human Services Division.

"This bill is targeted to battle the opioid epidemic, which contributes to additional crime, homelessness and other problems in our local communities. We think Snohomish County is a good venue to test this pilot program, because it has a severe opioid addiction crisis. The Snohomish Health District reports that just over one week this summer in July, 37 opioid overdoses were reported in the county, including three deaths. That really shows the magnitude of this problem," said Hayes in a press release.

It is Hayes' belief that creating a central location for so many critical services will help address the ongoing opioid crisis in a more comprehensive way.

"Snohomish County plans to use existing facilities with a 40-bed capacity to help those high-need individuals who have frequent contact with law enforcement and are often homeless and impacted by behavioral health and drug-abuse issues," added Hayes, who serves as the assistant ranking Republican on the House Public Safety Committee. "It's our hope that a collaborative effort of local social workers and our law enforcement community can identify at-risk individuals and help them get the comprehensive treatment and services they need through this new program."

Hayes also serves as a sergeant with the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office and has expressed his expectations that the pilot project will help to reduce the use of crisis and emergency resources, while also reducing criminal recidivism, increasing employment, creating housing stability and providing financial self-sufficiency for those impacted by opioid addiction.

"The bill specifically calls out metrics that must be reported back to the Legislature by December 1, 2019. If it shows the pilot program has successfully reduced addiction and recidivism, the next step would be to use it as a template in other communities experiencing the same problems," Hayes explained in the release.

The 2018 legislative session begins Jan. 8 and is scheduled for 60 days in Olympia.

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(c)2017 The Chronicle (Centralia, Wash.)

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