Washington adds jail-based specialists and new diversion options
Gov. Jay Inslee signed SB 5440, a second wave of legislative reform responding to continued pressure from the Trueblood case. The law funded new "clinical intervention specialist" positions inside jails, created additional diversion pathways for misdemeanor and developmental-disability cases, and tightened the standard judges must meet before ordering a competency evaluation in the first place.
The bill came after competency referrals had risen roughly 40 percent year over year, a volume increase that was outpacing every prior legislative fix and setting up the referral-growth story that would dominate coverage later that same year.
Source: Inslee signs Trueblood fix to improve competency services — Washington State Governor's Office (Medium), by Governor Jay Inslee
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