‘Community court’ can make a difference

Olympia received good news from the U.S. Department of Justice that it is one of 10 courts nationally to receive funds for a community court.

Specialty courts — those offering treatment alternatives instead of jail — are a growing trend in the United States. Thurston County Superior Court was the first jurisdiction locally to operate a drug court beginning in 1998.

Olympia Municipal Court took its big step into this arena with the start of a therapeutic court in January. The court has been linking defendants to housing, health-care, employment and educational opportunities that can help lead them out of trouble.

The $200,000 federal grant will let the city eventually add mental health and drug or alcohol treatment services, according to the city’s public defense coordinator, Diane Whaley.

The Olympia community court is the result of work by a core group including Municipal Court Judge Scott K. Ahlf, chief city prosecutor Rocio Ferguson, court administrator Maryam Olson, Monica Schneider of probation services, Diane Duch of the public defender’s office and Whaley.

Faced for years with a revolving door of offenders, Ahlf says it is time to try a new approach.

The court got off to a "soft launch" without fanfare on Jan. 6. Services already provided onsite include housing information from Sidewalk; education information from South Puget Sound Community College; job information from Pacific Mountain Workforce Development Council; and help from Sea Mar Community Health Centers to sign up people for Medicaid or health insurance.

With the grant, Whaley said the Olympia court can provide evaluations to determine what kind of treatment a defendant might need.

Besides the grant, which won’t be finalized until July, the city will receive help from the New York-based Center for Court Innovation. One proposal is to add a social worker. Another is to collect data on offenders, their crimes, their needs and how they do so the effectiveness of the court can be measured.

Spokane Municipal Court was the only other Washington site receiving a grant. Seattle is among the jurisdictions already operating this kind of court for low-level offenses.

Olympia’s court has already helped turn around a few lives, Whaley said. The community court is limited to offenders facing low-level charges that range from trespassing to public urination, littering, disorderly conduct, pedestrian interference, failure to respond to a notice of an infraction, or even minor thefts and driving on a suspended license.

So far, so good. This is a welcome and promising development for our community. It deserves support.

This story was originally published April 17, 2016 at 12:30 PM with the headline "‘Community court’ can make a difference."