Snohomish County Diversion Program Nearly Doubles Funding as It Eyes Expansion

A Snohomish County program that steers people toward social services instead of arrest is poised to grow after a surge in funding, and participants say it has changed their lives.

One of them, who asked to be identified only as Jane to protect her privacy, was living on the streets of Everett last winter after the house she was staying in burned down. "I didn't know how I was going to climb out of it," she said. In February 2021 she was about to be arrested for alleged trespassing when an officer told her about a diversion program that could keep her out of jail. She took the offer, began working with a case manager, and in November started renting a room in an Everett house. She says she is doing "much, much, much better."

The program, called Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion, or LEAD, launched in the county in November 2020. By June 2021, according to the county, more than 200 people had been referred to case managers. Of those, 51 were connected with medical care, 29 with health insurance, 23 with mental health services and 22 with substance abuse treatment. Fifty received vouchers for temporary housing and 14 were placed in long-term housing.

Funding has risen sharply. A $1.6 million grant from the Washington State Health Care Authority started the growth last year, and late last month the county received a $1.2 million grant from the federal Department of Justice. Together with a renewal of the existing grant and $500,000 in additional state money, the program's funding has roughly doubled.

The county Prosecuting Attorney's Office works with police in Lynnwood and Everett to refer people to a case manager. LEAD primarily serves people who are unsheltered, have mental health issues, struggle with drug addiction, or face some combination of the three. Project manager Ashley Dawson said there are two routes in: pre-booking diversion, offered to someone who could be arrested for a misdemeanor or low-level felony, and social contact referrals, in which officers identify a person who may qualify but has no specific offense. Most participants come through the second route.

Officers call a hotline staffed from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., and a case manager tries to reach the person within 30 minutes. Referrals made outside those hours are followed up within three days. Participants then build a plan with their case manager. Dawson said there is no guaranteed path to housing, but LEAD can guide people through a complicated process. Jason Marshall, who had lived unsheltered in the Everett area off and on for six years, was recently approved for an Everett apartment. "It's nice trying to focus on the right things rather than trying to survive every day," he said. Jane has received a new ID and glasses and is seeking counseling for post-traumatic stress disorder.

Advocates say the long-term "intensive case management services" set LEAD apart from other local efforts, such as social workers embedded with police agencies. The model was first developed in Seattle a decade ago, and a 2017 study found participants there were 58% less likely to be arrested after enrolling than people who were not in the program.

In Snohomish County, four case managers and an intake coordinator from Evergreen Recovery Centers each work with 20 to 25 people at a time, for a capacity of about 100 to 125 participants. People can remain enrolled as long as needed. The county said in its application that the $1.2 million would pay for more case managers to serve 75 additional participants at any time, with a quarter expected to be placed in housing, a quarter to receive substance use treatment and a quarter to get behavioral health services.

Prosecutor Adam Cornell said the approach costs less than jailing people, helps "break the repeated cycle of arrest, prosecution, incarceration," and is more compassionate. He hopes to extend LEAD beyond Everett and Lynnwood, saying probably thousands could benefit. A January 2019 count found more than 1,100 homeless people in the county, likely an undercount, with over 40% of the unsheltered in Everett and about 7% in Lynnwood. County Executive Dave Somers called LEAD "a critical component of our efforts to divert people from the criminal justice system." Cornell hopes that after he leaves office, the approach will be the norm rather than innovative. Jane, a former cook at an Everett cafe, now wants to return to work.