Biennial Report of the Washington Statewide Reentry Council — Washington State Department of Commerce, 2023

Summary

The biennial report of the Washington Statewide Reentry Council to the Legislature, prepared with the Washington State Department of Commerce and dated March, 2023. The report states that it satisfies RCW 43.380.050(4) and gives council updates for the 2021-2022 biennium, including the hiring of a new executive director, members' work on state and national task forces, filled council vacancies, and summaries of reentry-related bills from the 2021 and 2022 legislative sessions. It recommends investing in community-based reentry programs, ending post-incarceration housing discrimination and addressing racial disparities caused by the war on drugs, citing DOC custody figures by race. It closes by describing the Community Reinvestment Account, including $1 million appropriated to Commerce to develop a community reinvestment plan.

Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used

Full text

 Biennial report of the
 Statewide Reentry Council



Pursuant to RCW 380.040(4)




                              March, 2023
       WASHINGTON STATEWIDE
       REENTRY COUNCIL        Report to the Legislature

                              Interim Director Kendrick Stewart
V3.2
Acknowledgments

Washington Statewide Reentry Council
Winona Stevens, Co-Chair, Tribal affairs             Washington State Department of Commerce
                                                     Brittany Lovely, Program Coordinator,
Karen Lee, Legislative Subcommittee Chair,           Washington Statewide Reentry Council
community leader                                     360-789-1032
                                                     brittany.lovely@commerce.wa.gov
Francis Adewale, public defenders
                                                     COMMUNITY SERVICES DIVISION
Danielle Armbruster, Department of Corrections       1011 Plum St. SE
                                                     P.O. Box 42525
Felice Upton, Department of Children, Youth and      Olympia, WA 98504-2525
Families
                                                     Washington Statewide Reentry Council
Durell Green, individual reentering community        For people with disabilities, this report is available
                                                     on request in other formats. To submit a request,
Ayodele Idowu, faith-based organizations or          please call 360-725-4000 (TTY 360-586-0772)
communities

Pat Seibert-Love, community and technical colleges

Eric Richey, prosecutors

Ty Reed, individual reentering community

Hilary Young, housing providers

Penelope Sapp, law enforcement

Roger Kluck, community leader

Heather Wehr, victims

Jerry Goodstein, business

Washington State Department of Commerce
Diane Klontz, Deputy Director,
Divisions and Program Alignment

Graham Parrington, Policy and Communications
Coordinator
Divisions and Program Alignment




 REPORT OF THE WASHINGTON STATEWIDE REENTRY COUNCIL
Table of Contents
Executive summary...................................................................................................................................... 2

Council updates and activities...................................................................................................................... 3

Council recommendations ........................................................................................................................... 7




  REPORT OF THE WASHINGTON STATEWIDE REENTRY COUNCIL                                                                                                 1
Executive summary
Overview
During the 2016 session, the Washington State Legislature created the Washington Statewide Reentry Council
to improve public safety and outcomes for people reentering the community from incarceration (codified under
Chapter 43.380 RCW). This report satisfies the legislative requirement under RCW 43.380.050(4):

    The council shall submit to the governor and appropriate committees of the legislature a preliminary report of its
    activities and recommendations by December 1st of its first year of operation, and every two years thereafter.

This report outlines the council's legislative recommendations grounded in racial equity and the need for lived
expertise with the criminal legal system in guiding reentry practices and provides council updates and
activities for the 2021-2022 biennium.

Council highlights
      The council completed a search for an executive director. The Department of Commerce supported this
      effort through a contract with SM Diversity, a recruiting firm specializing in engaging a diverse applicant
      pool. New Executive Director, Janel McFeat, began on Jan. 3, 2023.

      Racial disparities in the Washington criminal legal system continue to harm Black, Indigenous and
      People of Color (BIPOC) communities. To remedy these harms, the council recommends the Legislature
      fund community-based programs and center the voices of those with lived expertise.

      Rental housing discrimination based on criminal history remains a primary barrier to successful reentry.

      The lasting impacts of the failed war on drugs, a campaign launched by President Richard Nixon in 1971
      to eliminate drug use, still significantly affects reentry outcomes, especially in communities of color.

      The Executive Office of the Governor and the Council Membership Selection Committee have actively
      engaged in statewide member recruitment to fill council vacancies.

Council recommendations
      Invest in community-based reentry program to facilitate successful reentry

      End post-incarceration housing discrimination

      Address racial disparities caused by the war on drugs




 REPORT OF THE WASHINGTON STATEWIDE REENTRY COUNCIL                                                                      2
Council updates and activities
New executive director
Christopher Poulos was hired as the Washington Statewide Reentry Council executive director in 2017. Under
his leadership, the council became a major public policy engagement body that continues to shape reentry
policy statewide. He transitioned out of his role in November 2021 to become the new director of person-
centered services and the first formerly incarcerated individual to work at the executive level of the Washington
State Department of Corrections (DOC).

Following Poulos' departure, the council convened its hiring subcommittee to begin the recruitment process
for a new executive director. In conjunction with the Department of Commerce, the Reentry Council contracted
with a recruitment firm, SM Diversity, to run a nationwide search.

At the November 2022 Council meeting, the council voted to confirm hiring Janel McFeat as the new Statewide
Reentry Council Executive Director.

Council engagement
The council remains engaged in local, state and federal reentry work. Members and staff serve on several task
forces, committees, and working groups to stay involved in the evolution of reentry policies while remaining
grounded in the needs of the justice-impacted community. Below is a non-exhaustive list of many examples of
council engagement.

State level
   Washington Criminal Sentencing Task Force

      Lydia Flora Barlow served as co-chair (ended 2021)
      Christopher Poulos served as an alternate and member of the Reentry Working Group
      Council appointed Francis Adewale as a temporary/alternate member (2022)

   Washington Reentry Task Force, convened by Northwest Justice Project
   State Opioid and Overdose Response Plan Workgroup
   Social Equity in Cannabis Task Force

      Christopher Poulos served as a member and co-lead of the Disparately Impacted Area/Applicant
       Working Group (2021)

   DOC Volunteer Policy Working Group
   DOC Amend/Norway Prison Reform Stakeholder Group
   Technology within DOC Working Group
   Washington Voting Rights Restoration Coalition
   Washington Housing Justice Coalition
   Community Partners for Transition Solutions (CPTS)
   Sentencing Reform Stakeholders
   Sentencing Guidelines Commission:

      Christopher Poulos previously attended and was a member of the Reentry Working Group




 REPORT OF THE WASHINGTON STATEWIDE REENTRY COUNCIL                                                           3
Reentry Council subcommittees
   Reentry Council Legislative Subcommittee
   Reentry Council Conflict of Interest Subcommittee
   Reentry Council Racial Equity Event Planning Subcommittee
   Reentry Council Hiring Subcommittee
   Reentry Council Membership Selection Committee

National/federal
   U.S. Department of Justice/Altarum Peer Recovery Support Services Advisory Council
   Council of State Governments Reentry Leaders
   Justice Roundtable:

      National Reentry Working Group
      Voting Rights Restoration Working Group

Council vacancies
The Governor's Office and the Reentry Council recruited for and filled five vacant positions representing the
following communities:

   Law enforcement
   Crime victims
   Business and employers
   Community leader (two positions)

Legislative action
Since the council's last report, the council has remained engaged in moving reentry-related policy through the
Legislature and advocating for budgetary support. A non-exhaustive list of the bills the council supported in
past legislative sessions is presented below.

2022 legislative session
Chapter 260, Laws of 2022 (E4SHB 1412) - Concerning legal financial obligations
The court may determine that the justice-involved individual is not required to pay full or partial restitution and
accrued interest on restitution to any insurer or state agency if the justice-involved person reasonably satisfies
the court that they do not have the means to make full or partial restitution to the insurer or state agency.
Redefined indigency to include new factors.

Chapter 29, Laws of 2022 (2SHB 1818) - Promoting successful reentry and
rehabilitation of persons convicted of criminal offenses.
This bill extends the housing voucher eligibility from three to six months and removes the requirement that a
person is released on supervision to be eligible. This bill also requires that the DOC prioritizes housing voucher
funds for those facing homelessness upon release. Removes the ability for DOC to charge people to process
interstate or supervision transfer applications. Adds new sections that require the Washington State Institute
for Public Policy to update its benefit-cost analysis of housing vouchers, repeals "offender supervision intake
fees," and RCWs related to the cost of supervision funds.




 REPORT OF THE WASHINGTON STATEWIDE REENTRY COUNCIL                                                             4
2021 legislative session
Chapter 200 Laws of 2021 (2SHB 1044) – Incarcerated persons - postsecondary
education
The DOC standard of education, from associate-level to postsecondary education, mandates that participation
in the postsecondary program be considered in transfer and release decisions and requires DOC to assist with
the financial aid process. This bill also increases access for people with documented disabilities, traumatic
brain injuries, and cognitive impairments and studies the impact of postsecondary education on recidivism.

Chapter 10 Laws of 2021 (ESHB 1078) – Voter eligibility - persons convicted of a
felony offense
This bill provides for the automatic restoration of voting rights to a person convicted of a felony when they are
not serving a sentence of total confinement under the jurisdiction of the DOC. This includes all people in the
community. It also removes the provisions authorizing the revocation of provisional restoration of voting rights
upon failure to pay legal financial obligations.

Chapter 206 Laws of 2021 (E2SHB 1186) – Concerning juvenile rehabilitation
Establishes a community transition services program through the Department of Children, Youth, and Families
(DCYF), where an individual may serve a portion of the term of confinement in the community under DCYF
supervision.

Chapter 41 Laws of 2021 (SHB 1294) – Addressing misdemeanant supervision
services by limited jurisdiction courts
Authorizes limited jurisdiction courts to enter into interlocal agreements for pretrial and post-judgment
supervision services. The bill establishes criteria governing the formation and scope of the interlocal
agreements. It also extends the limited immunity for misdemeanant supervision services to persons operating
through an interlocal agreement.

Chapter 165 Laws of 2021 (EHB 1311) – Substance use disorder professional
certifications - apprenticeship programs
Allows for persons participating in authorized apprenticeship programs to qualify for substance use disorder
professional certification.

Chapter 166 Laws of 2021 (SHB 1348) – Providing medical assistance to
incarcerated persons
Prohibits a person's incarceration status from affecting the person's Medicaid eligibility during the first 29 days
of incarceration. Expands the Medicaid suspension policy to include correctional institutions, state hospitals,
and other treatment facilities. Requires local jails to make reasonable efforts to collaborate with managed care
organizations for care coordination and improving health care delivery and release planning.

Chapter 194 Laws of 2021 (HB 1399) – Professional licensure - previous criminal
convictions
Creates a process for a person with a criminal conviction to request a determination of whether that criminal
history is disqualifying for obtaining a professional license administered by the Department of Licensing (DOL)




 REPORT OF THE WASHINGTON STATEWIDE REENTRY COUNCIL                                                             5
Chapter 219 Laws of 2021 (SHB 1411) – Expanding health care workforce eligibility
Prohibits the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) from automatically disqualifying a person
convicted of certain crimes from having unsupervised access to, working with, or providing care to vulnerable
adults or children. Directs DSHS to facilitate a work group to identify an informed choice process to allow older
adults and people with disabilities to hire an individual with a criminal record that would otherwise disqualify
the person from providing paid home care services. Authorizes DSHS to exercise its discretion regarding
whether to permit or prohibit a person with a certificate of restoration of opportunity to have unsupervised
access to children, vulnerable adults, or individuals with mental illness or developmental disabilities.

Chapter 265 Laws of 2021 (ESSB 5118) – Supporting successful reentry
Expands the Intrastate Detainer Act to include individuals in Juvenile Rehabilitation and warrants pending in
superior, district, municipal, or juvenile court. The bill designates the Department of Children, Youth, and
Families Juvenile Rehabilitation Division's community facilities as essential public facilities. Written
notification of a committed individual's planned release must be sent to the individual's health care insurance
provider.

Chapter 266 Laws of 2021 (ESSB 5121) – Expanding eligibility for the graduated
reentry program
Alters eligibility for the Graduated Reentry Program at the DOC by creating two participation tracks. The bill
also modifies the length of participation and minimum total confinement requirements for each track.

Chapter 240 Laws of 2021 (ESSB 5226) – Concerning the suspension of licenses for
traffic infractions
Eliminates driver's license suspension for failing to pay a traffic infraction for a moving violation. The bill
authorizes driver's license suspension when a person fails to comply with a payment plan and fails to appear
when requested by the court to appear and show evidence of ability to pay. Authorizes DOL to reinstate all
driver's licenses suspended for reasons that are no longer grounds for suspension. Requires DOL to take
reasonable steps to publicize information regarding the availability of relief to reinstate a suspended license
and create an online application process for people to apply for reinstatement.

Chapter 243 Laws of 2021 (E2SSB 5304) – Providing reentry services to persons
releasing from state and local institutions
Expands the Medicaid suspension policy to include correctional institutions, state hospitals, and other
treatment facilities. Requires full reinstatement of Medicaid benefits upon a person's release from
confinement and allows the Health Care Authority (HCA) to reinstate medical assistance before release as
long as no federal funds are expended for an unauthorized purpose. Requires HCA to apply for a Medicaid
waiver to allow the state to provide services to confined persons up to 30 days before the person's release or
discharge to the community. Renames the Offender Reentry Community Safety Program the Reentry
Community Services (RCS) Program and makes changes to the program. Directs HCA to convene a Reentry
Services Work Group and directs the Washington State Institute of Public Policy to update its previous
evaluations of the RCS program. Alters the definition of county of origin and the process for approving a
residence outside the person's county of origin.




 REPORT OF THE WASHINGTON STATEWIDE REENTRY COUNCIL                                                              6
Council recommendations
The council's 2020 biennial report established that the prevalence of systemic racial disparities in our prison
systems must be addressed.1 We highlighted that Black Americans are disproportionately impacted by the
criminal legal system at every point of contact and thus disparately represented in state prisons. Individuals
identifying as Black or African American comprise 17% of people in the Department of Corrections (DOC)
custody but only 4.5% of the overall state population. Native Americans and Alaskan Natives comprise 5% of
the prison population and only 2% of the total state population. People identified as Hispanics or Latinos in the
U.S. Census make up about 13.7% of Washingtonians but 16.5% of DOC custody.2

These striking numbers speak to more than just the population of our institutions but also the people
transitioning back into communities post-incarceration. Disparate inputs systemically destabilize communities
of color, creating a perpetual cycle of harm and decreasing public safety for all. The impact of system
involvement affects more than just an individual; it affects families and the community at large. We find that
the current state of reentry disproportionately harms BIPOC communities and needs further investment to
remedy decades of systemic disruption. Below, find a set of recommendations to improve reentry outcomes in
Washington.

Invest in community-based reentry support
The average stay in the DOC is 33.4 months, and roughly 95% of all incarcerated individuals will be released
from Washington prison facilities within 10 years of sentencing.3 Despite attempts at institutional support, the
reentry process is still riddled with barriers, such as difficulties finding housing, gaining employment, and
reuniting with family. These collateral consequences are often life sentences with far-reaching ripple effects
on individuals' ability to succeed — especially for members of the BIPOC communities. Research continues to
show that stable housing, mentorship, supportive community networks, and access to employment and
education are some of the fundamental needs for individuals to reintegrate successfully.4

For decades, advocates have been calling for a more humane approach and a broader understanding of the
impacts of mass incarceration, but it took a global pandemic for further system evaluation. COVID-19
highlighted the devastating impact of crowded facilities and forced prisons and jails to respond quickly. DOC
responded in step with Gov. Jay Inslee's Proclamation 20-50 Reducing Prison Population5 and emergency
commutation6 order, issued to allow the release of incarcerated individuals whose sentences included non-
violent or drug and alcohol-related offenses within 90 days of the order. This response time provided an
opportunity to analyze the reentry systems state agencies had in place and reevaluate the returning
population's needs. During these rapid releases, the DOC leaned heavily on community reentry programs to
support the releasing population, as they knew the programs already had systems to facilitate successful




1 Washington Statewide Reentry Council, "Biennial Report of the Statewide Reentry Council," (2020),

https://www.commerce.wa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Statewide-Reentry-Council-2020-Report.pdf
2 US Census Bureau, https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/WA/RHI225221#RHI225221
3 Washington State Department of Corrections, "DOC Agency Fact Card," (2022),

https://www.doc.wa.gov/docs/publications/reports/100-RE005.pdf
4 Groger, Harding, Henderson, "A better path forward for criminal justice: Prisoner reentry," (2021),

https://www.brookings.edu/research/a-better-path-forward-for-criminal-justice-prisoner-reentry/
5 Washington State Office of the Governor, "PROCLAMATION BY THE GOVERNOR AMENDING PROCLAMATION 20-05,"

https://www.governor.wa.gov/sites/default/files/proclamations/20-50%20-%20COVID-19%20Reducing%20Prison%20Population.pdf
6 Washington State Office of the Governor, "EMERGENCY COMMUTATION IN RESPONSE TO COVID-19,"

https://www.governor.wa.gov/sites/default/files/COVID-19%20-%20Commutation%20Order%204.15.20%20%28tmp%29.pdf


 REPORT OF THE WASHINGTON STATEWIDE REENTRY COUNCIL                                                                   7
transitions. Many of these organizations are run by formerly incarcerated individuals who understand the
needs and how best to serve those coming home.

More recently, society has begun to recognize the value of lived experience in remedying the harms of the
prison industrial complex and understanding the importance of investing in organizations that are by a
population, for a population. This peer-to-peer model is effective not only because the population knows the
needs of its own population but also because they act as a trusted messenger.

A common slogan in the justice-impacted community is "Those closest to the problem are closest to the
solution but farthest from the power and resources." This raises awareness of access issues and credibility in
finding solutions to mass incarceration. The Legislature has supported this shift in focus by passing legislation
providing stipends for people providing their lived expertise on state boards, commissions, councils,
committees, and other similar groups.7 Community-based reentry programs are often founded and run by
people with lived experience and deep ties to the community who are most well prepared to meet the needs of
those returning home. The council finds that financing community-based reentry support is an effective
investment in successful reentry and increased public safety.

Recent progress: Community-Based Reentry Support Program launch
In the 2022-23 operating budget (section 123), the Legislature provided $2.5 million for state fiscal year 2022
and $2.5 million for state fiscal year 2023 to the Department of Commerce to administer a competitive grant
program for grants to community-based reentry support programs that serve formerly incarcerated individuals
and facilitate successful transitions to the community.

The Statewide Reentry Council collaborated with Commerce to stand up the request for proposal process in
2021 before the newly formed Office of Firearm Safety and Violence Prevention (OFSVP) took on the program.
As part of the application process, applicants were required to provide a comprehensive project proposal
focused on costs including but not limited to housing, employment services, family reunification, legal
services, case management and navigators to respond to collateral consequences of system involvement. Per
the proviso language, at least 30% of the funding was distributed in rural counties.

Commerce announced the first round of funding requests for proposal in September 2021, seeking
submissions to community-based programs to provide reentry services for formerly incarcerated persons and
supports to facilitate successful transitions to the community. Commerce received 28 submissions, and 10
grantees were awarded grant packages for state fiscal year 2022. The estimated time to complete the contract
was from October 2021 to June 30, 2022. These organizations provided 1,858 individual reentry services in 24
of 39 Washington counties (see Table 1).

For state fiscal year 2023, Commerce received 29 proposals, and 10 community-based organizations received
grants with an average award of $250,000. The amount requested far exceeded the $2.375 million in available
funding. Results from the state fiscal year 2023 round of grants will be presented in the 2024 Statewide
Reentry Council report.




7 Washington State Legislature, "Chapter 245, Laws of 2022," https://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2021-

22/Pdf/Bills/Session%20Laws/Senate/5793-S2.SL.pdf?q=20221201092815


 REPORT OF THE WASHINGTON STATEWIDE REENTRY COUNCIL                                                            8
Table 1: Types of reentry services provided - state fiscal year 2022

  Service type                                   Number of people served

  Referrals                                                                        37

  Training and mentoring                                                          199

  Reestablished family relationships                                               29

  Tattoo removal                                                                    7

  Employment assistance                                                            95

  Legal assistance                                                                156

  Trauma-informed care                                                            190

  Basic needs assistance                                                          200

  Group therapy                                                                    29

  Substance abuse treatment                                                         8

  Assistance with obtaining a driver's license                                     31

  Education assistance                                                             15

  Housing assistance                                                               59

  Staff development and training                                                    5

  Hired additional staff                                                           13

  Total                                                                         1,858

Source: quarterly reports from grantees.


Council involvement
The council guides the Reentry Grant Program and conducts community outreach with communities impacted
by incarceration, including formerly incarcerated people and their families, people currently incarcerated, and
organizations working in the reentry space. The Reentry Council also develops relationships with the DOC, local
jails, and youth detention facilities. This outreach and partnership development ensures the program is
responsive to those closest to the solutions.




  REPORT OF THE WASHINGTON STATEWIDE REENTRY COUNCIL                                                        9
Next steps
Expand and fund the Community-Based Reentry Support Grant Program
Actual community need is greater than the $5 million appropriation in the 2021-22 biennial operating budget
(section 129, subsection 123). To meet this greater need, community funding must be systematically
expanded. Based on feedback from stakeholders and community-based reentry support grantees, funding for
the Reentry Grant Program needs to at least double from a $5 million appropriation to a $10 million investment
per biennium.

The Community-Based Reentry Support Grant program is set up to support community-based reentry
organizations working to serve people reentering communities by providing resources to overcome the
collateral consequences of incarceration. These services also have a lasting effect on the families of justice-
impacted individuals and promote community stability. By expanding available funding to organizations doing
this work in the community, the state can support successful reintegration by building organizational capacity
and increasing the number of people eligible for reentry services.

The OFSVP submitted a decision package for the 2024-25 biennial budget requesting a $10 million
appropriation for the Community Based Reentry Support Grant program. Although the council recognizes that
this request of $10 million will not serve all returning residents, this will be a step forward in continuing to
expand reentry support at the community level. Nonprofit organizations play a significant role in setting people
up for success upon their return to the community leading to reduced recidivism and increased public safety.

End housing discrimination post-incarceration
Access to safe and affordable housing remains a primary barrier to successful reentry following incarceration.
As noted in this report, the criminal legal system disparately affects communities of color; therefore, criminal
legal involvement is often used as a proxy for race, circumventing the prohibition on discrimination of
protected classes. With no clear direction, landlords can create their own screening processes and lock justice-
impacted individuals out of safe and stable housing. During legislative testimony, work sessions, and
legislative and community events, the council emphasized the importance of addressing this crisis in previous
reports to the Legislature. The council will continue to do so until substantial progress has been made.

Next steps
Pass the Housing Justice Act
Prospective tenants, property owners, and property management companies currently have no direction from
the state on when, if ever, housing discrimination based on a prior criminal arrest or conviction is permissible.
Black, Indigenous, and Hispanic people are disparately impacted by criminal records and, therefore, by rental
housing discrimination based on criminal records. Black people, particularly Black men, are the most targeted
and negatively impacted by Washington's criminal legal system. The Housing Justice Act8 would help address
rental housing discrimination against prospective tenants with arrest and conviction records that meet all
other qualified tenant criteria. As previously noted, safe and stable housing is fundamental to successful
reentry and community reintegration. Denying people access to rental housing due to past convictions is
detrimental to successful reentry and public safety and perpetuates racism.




8 Washington State Legislature, "HB 2017," (2022), https://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2021-

22/Pdf/Bills/House%20Bills/2017.pdf?q=20221121163415


 REPORT OF THE WASHINGTON STATEWIDE REENTRY COUNCIL                                                          10
Address racial disparities caused by the war on drugs
Since the birth of the war on drugs in the 1980s, BIPOC individuals have been disproportionately arrested,
convicted, and imprisoned for possession and distribution of illegal substances, despite evidence that there is
no difference in the rate of use and supply between communities of color and white people. Federal law
enforcement policies, state and local legislation, and criminal legal system practices supported the purposeful
disruption of entire communities. In a 1994 interview, John Ehrlichman, President Nixon's domestic policy
advisor, revealed that the war on drugs was a racially motivated and pointed attack on their political
opposition:

     We knew we couldn't make it illegal to be either against the war or blacks, but by getting the public to associate the
     hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin and then criminalizing them both heavily, we could disrupt those
     communities. We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night
     in the evening news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did.9

As the war on drugs grew in policy, the over-criminalization and mass incarceration of BIPOC communities
became clear, as did the biases evidenced through the contrast of the criminal legal system treatment relative
to their white peers.10 Over the last two years, these disparities have been further recognized in analyses of
court data regarding simple drug possession in Washington following the State Supreme Court ruling handed
down in State v. Blake, 197 Wn.2d 170, 481 P.3d 521 (2021). In this case ruling, it was decided that the state
statute governing simple possession was unconstitutional and void; therefore, it must be applied to all cases,
retroactively and prospectively, since the statute was established — overturning numerous cases.11 According
to the DOC, their database estimates around 13,516 individuals were affected. In contrast, data collected by
the Seattle Clemency Project puts the number of individuals convicted of simple drug possession in
Washington since 1999 at 126,173.




9 Nkechi Taifa, "Race, Mass Incarceration, and the Disastrous War on Drugs," (2021), https://www.brennancenter.org/our-

work/analysis-opinion/race-mass-incarceration-and-disastrous-war-drugs
10 John Hudak, "Reversing the War on Drugs: A five-point plan," (2021), https://www.brookings.edu/research/reversing-the-war-on-

drugs-a-five-point-plan/
11 Alison Pagan, "RACIAL, GENDER, AND COUNTY DISPARITIES FOR SIMPLE DRUG POSSESSION CONVICTIONS IN WASHINGTON

STATE," (2021), https://defensenet.org/racial-gender-and-county-disparities-for-simple-drug-possession-convictions-in-washington-
state/


 REPORT OF THE WASHINGTON STATEWIDE REENTRY COUNCIL                                                                             11
Figure 1: Washington drug possession convictions by percent of racial population




Source: Graphic from Alison Pagan, 2021, Washington Defender Association

While simple drug possession convictions have been made unconstitutional, the council recognizes the impact
these convictions have had on hundreds of thousands of Washingtonians. The council also recognizes that
there is a clear disparity in populations that have been impacted by these charges (see Figure 1). However,
clearing these charges, resentencing individuals, and redistributing money paid in legal financial obligations
does not go far enough. The decades of collateral consequences people have suffered due to the racist impact
of the war on drugs need to be remedied.

Next steps
We know that racial biases in drug enforcement are not unique to cannabis. As previously mentioned, lived
expertise with the criminal legal system and racial equity should be centered in all solution-seeking legislation
and funding. To remedy the harms of the war on drugs and mitigate the collateral consequences that expand
far beyond the initial sentence, the council urges this commitment to community engagement to build a
community reinvestment plan based on data-driven best practices and to maintain the community
engagement across time to ensure it remains a community-accountable investment.

Systemic investment in reentry through the Community Reinvestment Account
The Legislature appropriated $1 million in the 2022 supplemental operating budget for Commerce to develop a
community reinvestment plan to guide the distribution of grants from the Community Reinvestment Account:
$100 million in both state fiscal years 2024 and 2025 in partnership with the Office of Equity, community
partners and leadership with lived experience. The plan will describe how funds will be invested to address


 REPORT OF THE WASHINGTON STATEWIDE REENTRY COUNCIL                                                           12
racial, economic, and social disparities created by the historical design and enforcement of state and federal
criminal laws and penalties for drug possession. The plan will guide the investment of the funds in four key
areas, as defined by the Legislature in section 128, subsection 134, the fourth of which the council
recommends to increase reentry support statewide:

    (i) Economic development, which includes addressing wealth disparities to promote asset building such as home
    ownership and expanding access to financial resources including, but not limited to, grants and loans for small
    businesses and entrepreneurs, financial literacy training, and other small business training and support activities;
    (ii) Civil and criminal legal assistance to provide postconviction relief and case assistance, including the
    expungement of criminal records and vacation of criminal convictions;
    (iii) Community-based violence intervention and prevention services; and
    (iv) Reentry services to facilitate successful transitions for persons formerly incarcerated in an adult correctional
    facility or juvenile residential facility in Washington.

The Community Reinvestment Account will need continued state-level investment and community
collaboration to ensure its effectiveness over time. The council urges structural and ongoing support for
reentry through the Community Reinvestment Account.




 REPORT OF THE WASHINGTON STATEWIDE REENTRY COUNCIL                                                                     13


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