Tenino sex offender home on pause, state officials say. Here’s what else they shared
A sex offender home near Tenino did not receive its first resident on Wednesday, Feb. 1, as planned because the owner must first resolve code compliance concerns with Thurston County.
Washington state officials from the Department of Social and Health Services as well as Department of Corrections held a public webinar about the sex offender housing program on Wednesday.
Kevin Bovenkamp, Assistant Secretary at DSHS, briefly updated the public on the status of the home owned and operated by Supreme Living LLC, a private residential services provider. But most of the meeting was dedicated to answering questions about the state’s Less Restrictive Alternative program for sex offenders.
The controversial LRA community home is located on a 15-acre property at 2813 140th Ave. SW. Supreme Living planned to accept its first resident at the home by Feb. 1. In all, up to five DSHS clients may be housed there, including sex offenders released from McNeil Island Special Commitment Center.
Though the home operates under a state program, Bovenkamp said DSHS and DOC were not involved in the conversations between Supreme Living and Thurston County.
The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the delay of the opening in a Facebook post. The pause serves as a short-term victory for opponents of the home.
Last week, Thurston County Manager Ramiro Chavez said the county intended to delay the home’s opening by enforcing certain code requirements. This strategy came about after dozens of people protested the home during a Board of County Commissioners meeting on Jan. 17.
The webinar on Wednesday came together after DSHS and DOC officials backed out of an in-person town hall in Tenino because of safety concerns. At the time, Derek Sanders said he felt “infuriated and embarrassed” by their decision.
Days later, Sanders said state officials and Supreme Living had received “unacceptable” death threats, The Olympian reported.
Public safety concerns
Contrary to some people’s assertions, Bovenkamp stressed that there are no plans to close the Special Commitment Center on McNeil Island in favor of releasing sex offenders into the community.
However, a court may order a civilly committed sex offender to be conditionally released into an LRA. This may occur only after they serve their prison sentence and experts evaluate their treatment progress at the Special Commitment Center.
Keith Devos, Chief Executive Officer of the Special Commitment Center, said a resident on conditional release has never been convicted of a “hands on” re-offense over the past three decades.
A resident who escapes and/or re-offends will immediately be returned to total confinement on McNeil Island, Devos said.
“I am aware of one resident being charged with getting into some stuff on the internet,” Devos said. “That resident was quickly returned to total confinement and new charges were filed.”
The officials only recalled one instance where a resident escaped from an LRA. Brandon Duncan, Civil Commitment Program Manager at DOC, said this person cut their GPS ankle strap and left their LRA in Spokane.
“We found them,” Duncan said. “I believe it was no more than a couple hours and he was sitting on the sidewalk. We apprehended him, took him back to total confinement and referred to the criminal prosecutor of that county for felony escape charges.”
When someone leaves an LRA, a DOC specialist is immediately notified and attempts to locate the resident. If they cannot find them quickly, Duncan said they contact law enforcement and DOC fugitive apprehension teams. He added DOC enters a warrant for the person’s arrest as well.
Donta Harper, Senior Administrator for Community Corrections Operations at DOC, said the civil commitment program at DOC started in 2012 and currently has 13 specialists that monitor LRA cases across the state.
“They are able to respond to residents in incidents 24/7,” Harper said. “They have a caseload of about 10 per specialist. The specialist team collaborates and works with law enforcement teams and DSHS to ensure compliance with LRA conditions as ordered by the court.”
Harper said specialists supervise 86 cases across the state, including in King, Pierce, Spokane, Walla Walla, Snohomish and Kitsap counties.
Public notice concerns
Many local residents have expressed concerns about the lack of public notice about the LRA home.
Candice Yi, Chief of Transition and Program Accountability at DSHS, said state law only requires the DSHS Special Commitment Center to notify law enforcement no less than 30 days prior to a sex offender’s discharge to an LRA.
“The Sheriff’s Department has the obligation to determine in what manner this notification is provided to the community members at large,” Yi said. “We would like to stress that we take the notification process seriously as it is dictated by law.”
Devos of the Special Commitment Center said SCC notified the Sheriff’s Office of the planned discharge in mid-December. He suggested Sanders may have missed this because of a transition period.
“I do think in this case there was a transition between the sheriffs and so it is likely that the new sheriff was not aware at the time of this law enforcement notification,” Devos said.
Sanders previously told The Olympian that former Sheriff John Snaza did not speak to him or include him in executive meetings after the November election. Sanders only officially became Sheriff this year.
Additionally, Thurston County officials have known about the home and deliberated about their response since at least last summer, according to previous meeting recordings and agendas.
Republican legislators from the 35th District, which includes the Supreme Living site, are seeking to change the public notice requirements for LRA homes, The Olympian previously reported.
Sen. Drew MacEwen has introduced Senate Bill 5544 to that aim. Reps. Dan Griffey and Travis Couture plan to introduce a similar bill in the state House of Representatives.
DSHS and DOC officials have posted answers to frequently asked questions about Less Restrictive Alternatives on the DSHS Special Commitment Center website.
A complete recording of the Wednesday webinar can be found on the DSHS YouTube Channel.
This story was originally published February 2, 2023 at 1:28 PM.
