Department of Corrections

  Average Annual FTEs Near General Fund State Other Funds Total Funds
  (Dollars in Thousands)
Current Budget 8,933.3 2,296,026 103,499 2,399,525
2019-21 Maintenance Level 8,998.6 2,332,929 103,498 2,436,427
Difference from 2017-19 65.3 36,903 (1) 36,902
% Change from 2017-19 0.73% 1.6% (0.0%) 1.5%

2019-21 Policy Other Changes

Custody Staff: Health Care Delivery 48.4 8,640 0 8,640
Custody Relief Factor 53.9 14,464 0 14,464
Critical Safety: Nursing Relief 25.8 5,128 0 5,128
Contraband Management 10.9 2,655 0 2,655
Food & Staff Safety Improvements 0.0 900 0 900
Increased Violator Arrests 12.4 2,674 0 2,674
Hepatitis C Treatment Expansion 0.0 6,558 0 6,558
SCAAP Federal Funding Loss 0.0 987 0 987
Sentence Review Board Resources 2.7 902 0 902
Tolling Centralization 55.5 9,431 0 9,431
Gender Responsivity 0.0 136 0 136
Chemical Dependency Bed Expansion 0.0 2,162 0 2,162
OMNI Assessment 0.50 2,165 0 2,165
Health Accreditation & Advocacy 2.8 1,425 0 1,425
Core Values EDIR Training 0.70 154 0 154
Earned Time to 50 Percent (3.1) (1,802) 0 (1,802)
Marine Vessel Replacement 0.0 1,200 0 1,200
Supervision Reforms (16.7) (5,411) 0 (5,411)
2019-21 Policy Other Changes Total 193.8 52,368 0 52,368

2019-21 Policy Comp Changes

PERS & TRS Plan 1 Benefit Increase 0.0 227 0 227
2019-21 Policy Comp Changes Total 0.0 227 0 227

2019-21 Policy Central Services Changes

Archives/Records Management 0.0 18 0 18
Audit Services 0.0 66 0 66
Attorney General 0.0 220 0 220
CTS Central Services 0.0 1 0 1
DES Central Services 0.0 129 0 129
OFM Central Services 0.0 2,122 0 2,122
2019-21 Policy Central Services Changes Total 0.0 2,556 0 2,556
Total Policy Changes 193.8 55,151 0 55,151
2019-21 Policy Level 9,192.4 2,388,080 103,498 2,491,578
Difference from 2017-19 259.1 92,054 (1) 92,053
% Change from 2017-19 2.9% 4.0% (0.0%) 3.8%

Policy Changes

Archives/Records Management

Adjustments are made to reflect each agency’s anticipated share of state archiving and state records center costs from the Secretary of State’s Office. (General Fund - State)

Audit Services

Adjustments are made to reflect each agency’s anticipated share of state government audits from the State Auditor’s Office. (General Fund - State)

Attorney General

Adjustments are made to reflect each agency's anticipated share of legal service charges from the Attorney General’s Office. (General Fund - State)

CTS Central Services

Adjustments are made to reflect each agency’s anticipated share of charges from Consolidated Technology Services (CTS) for the Office of the Chief Information Officer, Office of Cyber Security, state network, enterprise services, small agency IT services, state data center operations, security gateways, and geospatial imaging services. (General Fund - State)

DES Central Services

Adjustments are made to reflect each agency’s anticipated share of charges from the Department of Enterprise Services (DES) for campus rent, utilities, parking, and contracts; capital project surcharges; financing cost recovery; public and historic facilities; real estate services; risk management services; personnel service rates; the Perry Street child care center; small agency services; and the department’s enterprise applications. (General Fund - State)

OFM Central Services

Adjustments are made to reflect each agency’s anticipated share of charges from the Office of Financial Management (OFM) for statewide financial applications, One Washington, and other OFM central services. (General Fund - State)

Custody Staff: Health Care Delivery

The CGL Management Group completed a review of the Department of Corrections' prison staffing model in June 2019. The report identified insufficient staffing in several areas, driven by the medical and mental health needs of incarcerated individuals. Those areas include off-site medical transportation, community hospital watches, one-on-one suicide watches and mental health living units. To address the staffing shortages identified by CGL, funding is provided for critical security positions in prison facilities across the state. (General Fund - State)

Custody Relief Factor

The Department of Corrections' (DOC) prison staffing model was developed over 30 years ago, and no significant changes have been made to the model since its creation. The model details the security staffing needs for 24/7 operations at DOC's 12 prisons and uses a relief factor to identify the number of full-time equivalent positions it takes to fill a single custody post. The CGL Management Group completed a review of the DOC's prison staffing model in June 2019 and found that the true relief factor is a 7.8 percent increase over the relief factor currently in use. Funding is provided to increase the staffing model's relief factors to reflect actual requirements and leave usage as recommended by CGL. (General Fund - State)

Critical Safety: Nursing Relief

The CGL Management Group completed a review of the Department of Corrections' (DOC) prison staffing model in June 2019. The report recommended a relief factor, similar to that of the custody relief factor, to support the 24/7 operations of nursing staff and identified inadequate nursing supervisory coverage and insufficient medical practitioner support in DOC prisons. Funding is provided for on-call and overtime activities, as well as increased nursing supervisors and medical assistants as recommended by CGL. (General Fund - State)

Contraband Management

The Washington State Corrections Center for Women (WCCW) received funding in the 2018 supplemental budget for a body scanner pilot with the objective of reducing strip searches and the subsequent trauma experienced by female incarcerated individuals. The body scanner pilot has not only significantly reduced the number of strip searches but has greatly reduced the flow of contraband into the facility. Funding is provided for the subsequent increase in dry cell watches necessary to ensure the contraband is safely recovered and prevented from reaching the incarcerated population. (General Fund - State)

Food & Staff Safety Improvements

The Department of Corrections (DOC) provides incarcerated individuals with meals developed by a dietician based on the dietary standards established by the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academies Institute of Medicine. In an effort to improve quality and provide healthier food options, DOC began to phase out cold breakfast trays at facilities under Correctional Industries management in fiscal year 2018. Funding is provided to reinstate traditional hot breakfast at the remaining three facilities. (General Fund - State)

Increased Violator Arrests

Dedicated resources are provided for transport services to address the increase in community violator admissions. This allows community corrections officers to focus on case management and supervised individual engagement instead of conducting time-intensive transports. (General Fund - State)

Hepatitis C Treatment Expansion

Funding is provided to increase the amount of Hepatitis C treatments administered to incarcerated individuals from 354 to 520 each year. If the medication prices continue to decrease, the Department of Corrections would be able to further increase the amount of treatments provided with the goal of eliminating Hepatitis C in Washington by 2030. (General Fund - State)

SCAAP Federal Funding Loss

The Department of Corrections previously received funds through the State Crime Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP) to assist in paying for the cost of incarceration for undocumented immigrants who have committed serious crimes in the state of Washington. In recent years, the Federal Bureau of Justice Assistance instituted several changes to the administration of these funds that resulted in the complete elimination of federal SCAAP funding distributed to the state of Washington. Funding is provided to replace the loss of federal SCAAP funds with General Fund-State dollars. (General Fund - State)

Sentence Review Board Resources

Funding is provided for additional staffing to keep up with the demands of the increased number of violation hearings, administrative actions in the field and to remain in compliance with state law. It also funds increased attorney legal fees and board member salaries. (General Fund - State)

Tolling Centralization

Tolling is when time served toward a sentence is paused due to an individual not being available for supervision or confinement. The accuracy of these calculations could directly impact an individual's liberty, if they are held too long in confinement or on supervision, and could impact public safety if an individual is released too early. In order to achieve greater accuracy, funding is provided to establish a centralized tolling unit and to audit all causes being supervised. (General Fund - State)

Gender Responsivity

Research indicates that incarcerated women are often placed in higher than necessary levels of custody, and traditional classification systems do not adequately address women's unique pathways to crime, including the confluence of trauma, mental health issues and substance disorder. Funding is provided to evaluate and improve gender-informed policies and practices by conducting a Gender Informed Practices Assessment and contracting with Washington State University to modify classification assessment tools to incorporate gender. (General Fund - State)

Chemical Dependency Bed Expansion

Funding is provided to add 34 Residential Drug Offense Sentencing Alternative (DOSA) and intensive inpatient chemical dependency beds in the community to meet demand and eliminate the DOSA bed wait list. Eliminating the wait list will increase judicial use of this sentencing alternative, decrease community supervision violators and decrease the likelihood of recidivism. (General Fund - State)

OMNI Assessment

The 2016 Gartner Consulting report of the Department of Correction's (DOC) IT unit found that the Offender Management Network Information (OMNI) system was constrained by its complexity, usability and instability. Funding is provided to continue DOC's OMNI stabilization efforts and to conduct a feasibility study to identify options for modernization or replacement of the system. (General Fund - State)

Health Accreditation & Advocacy

Funding is provided to improve patient care across the Department of Corrections' health care system by incorporating evidence-based programs, patient safety reporting and clinical oversight. Strategic investments include: pursuing National Commission on Correctional Health Care accreditation; piloting a patient advocacy program at the Monroe Correctional Center and the Washington State Corrections Center for Women; and providing compassion fatigue training for all health care staff. (General Fund - State)

Core Values EDIR Training

Funding is provided to implement a core values training curriculum using evidence and research-based principles. The training will focus on equity, diversity, implicit bias, inclusion and respectful work environment with the goal of improving the Department of Corrections' culture. (General Fund - State)

Earned Time to 50 Percent

The prison population is reduced through a prospective sentencing change that would make certain incarcerated individuals serving time for non-violent or drug offenses eligible for 50 percent earned time. Currently, non-violent and drug offenders are eligible to earn up to 33 percent of their sentence. Prior to 2010, there were certain offenders who were allowed to earn up to 50 percent of their sentence as earned time. Based on a report by the Washington State Institute for Public Policy, offenders who were awarded the increased earned time percentage had a 3.5 percent lower felony recidivism rate after three years than offenders who stayed in prison longer. (General Fund - State)

Marine Vessel Replacement

Due to the condition of the Neil Henly ferry and new United States Coast Guard requirements, the vessel cannot be recertified without major repairs and modifications and will be decommissioned by the end of calendar year 2019. Funding is provided to purchase a newer small passenger vessel to replace the Neil Henly in order to continue uninterrupted transportation between Steilacoom and McNeil Island. (General Fund - State)

Supervision Reforms

With a focus on best practices and simplification, the community supervision and violator populations are reduced through sentencing changes that include concurrent supervision, positive achievement time, and swift and certain sanctioning reforms. The savings from these caseload reductions allow for investments, as recommended by the Sentencing Guidelines Commission and the Criminal Sentencing Task Force, in evidence-based supervision and reentry practices that support accountability and successful reintegration into the community. (General Fund - State)

PERS & TRS Plan 1 Benefit Increase

For eligible Public Employees' and Teachers' Retirement Systems Plan 1 members, this item provides an increase of 1.5 percent, up to a maximum of $22 per month. (General Fund - State)