Mental health sentencing alt

AN ACT Relating to the mental health sentencing alternative; and 1
amending RCW 9.94A.695. 2
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:3
Sec. 1. RCW 9.94A.695 and 2024 c 373 s 1 are each amended to 4
read as follows: 5
(1) A defendant is eligible for the mental health sentencing 6
alternative if: 7
(a) The defendant is convicted of a felony that is not ((a)):8
(i) A serious violent offense ((or));9
(ii) A sex offense , except for failure to register under RCW 10
9A.44.132; or11
(iii) A domestic violence offense committed against an intimate 12
partner, except where the victim and the prosecuting attorney both 13
consent to the defendant's participation in the sentencing 14
alternative; 15
(b) The defendant has no prior convictions in this state, and no 16
prior convictions for an equivalent out-of-state or federal offense, 17
for any violent offense within 10 years before conviction of the 18
current offense;19
(c) The defendant is diagnosed with a ((serious mental illness )) 20
psychotic disorder recognized by the diagnostic manual in use by 21
H-2787.1
HOUSE BILL 2558
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2026 Regular Session
By Representatives Walen, Davis, Santos, and Duerr
Read first time 01/19/26. Referred to Committee on Community Safety.
p. 1 HB 2558
mental health professionals at the time of sentencing , including 1
schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and bipolar disorder with 2
psychotic features, but excluding substance-induced psychotic 3
disorder; 4
(((c))) (d) The defendant is willing to participate in the 5
sentencing alternative; and6
(e) As determined by the judge:7
(i) The defendant and the community would benefit from 8
supervision and treatment((, as determined by the judge; and9
(d) The defendant is willing to participate in the sentencing 10
alternative));11
(ii) The defendant's untreated psychotic disorder was a 12
significant contributing factor in the commission of the offense; and13
(iii) There is a reasonable probability that the defendant's 14
psychotic disorder can be appropriately managed with psychotropic 15
medications, including but not limited to long-acting injectable 16
antipsychotics. 17
(2) A motion for a sentence under this section may be made by any 18
party or the court, but is contingent upon the defendant's agreement 19
to participate in the sentencing alternative. ((To determine whether 20
the defendant has a serious mental illness, the court may rely on 21
information including reports completed pursuant to chapters 71.05 22
and 10.77 RCW, or other mental health professional as defined in RCW 23
71.05.020, or other information and records related to mental health 24
services. Information and records relating to mental health services 25
must be handled consistently with RCW 9.94A.500(2). If insufficient 26
information is available to determine whether a defendant has a 27
serious mental illness, the court may order an examination of the 28
defendant.))29
(3) To assist the court in its determination, the department 30
shall provide a written report, which shall be in the form of a 31
presentence investigation. Such report may be ordered by the court on 32
the motion of a party prior to conviction if such a report will 33
facilitate negotiations. ((The court may waive the production of this 34
report if sufficient information is available to the court to make a 35
determination under subsection (4) of this section.)) The report must 36
contain: 37
(a) The defendant's diagnosis of a psychotic disorder;38
(b) The opinion of a physician, physician assistant, or advanced 39
registered nurse practitioner who has evaluated the defendant, that 40
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there is a reasonable probability that the defendant's psychotic 1
disorder can be appropriately managed with psychotropic medications;2
(c) If available, information including reports completed 3
pursuant to chapters 71.05 and 10.77 RCW, reports completed by a 4
mental health professional as defined in RCW 71.05.020, and other 5
information and records related to mental health services, subject to 6
the requirements and limitations under RCW 9.94A.500(2);7
(d) The opinion of the department regarding the appropriateness 8
of the sentencing alternative and the suitability of the defendant 9
for supervision;10
(e) A ((proposed)) treatment plan for the defendant's ((mental 11
illness)) psychotic disorder, including at a minimum:12
(i) The name and address of a treatment provider that is agreeing 13
to provide treatment to the defendant ((, including an intake 14
evaluation, a psychiatric evaluation, and development of an 15
individualized plan of treatment which shall be submitted as soon as 16
possible to the department and the court )) and that accepts the 17
defendant's insurance;18
(ii) A completed psychiatric evaluation from within the last six 19
months conducted by a physician, physician assistant, or advanced 20
registered nurse practitioner with a specialty in psychiatric 21
medicine and experience working with individuals with a criminal 22
history;23
(iii) An individualized plan of treatment, including requirements 24
for psychotropic medications and counseling; and 25
(((ii))) (iv) An agreement by the treatment provider to monitor 26
the progress of the defendant on the sentencing alternative , provide 27
updates to the department and the court on such progress, and notify 28
the department and the court at any time during the duration of the 29
order if reasonable efforts to engage the defendant fail to produce 30
substantial compliance with court-ordered treatment conditions;31
(((b))) (f) A proposed monitoring plan, including any 32
requirements regarding living conditions, lifestyle requirements, and 33
monitoring by family members and others; 34
(((c))) (g) Recommended crime-related prohibitions and 35
affirmative conditions; and 36
(((d))) (h) A release of information, signed by the defendant, 37
allowing the parties and the department to confirm components of the 38
treatment and monitoring plan. 39
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(4) After consideration of all available information and 1
determining whether the defendant is eligible, the court shall 2
consider whether the defendant and the community will benefit from 3
the use of this sentencing alternative. The court shall ((consider)) 4
give serious consideration to the victim's opinion about whether the 5
defendant should receive a sentence under this section. If the 6
sentencing court determines that a sentence under this section is 7
appropriate, the court shall waive imposition of the sentence within 8
the standard range. The court shall impose a term of community 9
custody between 12 and 24 months if the midpoint of the defendant's 10
standard range sentence is less than or equal to 36 months, and a 11
term of community custody between ((12)) 24 months and 36 months if 12
the midpoint of the defendant's standard range sentence is longer 13
than 36 months. The actual length of community custody within these 14
ranges shall be at the discretion of the court. 15
(5) If the court imposes an alternative sentence under this 16
section, the department shall assign a community corrections officer 17
to supervise the defendant. The department shall provide a community 18
corrections officer assigned under this section with appropriate 19
training in mental health to be determined by the department.20
(6) For a defendant participating in this sentencing alternative, 21
the court and correctional facility may delay the defendant's release 22
from total confinement in order to facilitate adherence to the 23
defendant's treatment plan. This may include delaying release in 24
order to: 25
(a) Allow a defendant to transfer directly to an inpatient 26
treatment facility or supportive housing provider;27
(b) Ensure appropriate transportation is established and 28
available; or 29
(c) Release the defendant during business hours on a weekday when 30
services are available. 31
(7)(a) The court ((may)) shall schedule progress hearings for the 32
defendant to evaluate the defendant's progress in treatment and 33
compliance with conditions of supervision on no less than a monthly 34
basis for the first six months of the alternative sentence, and on no 35
less than a quarterly basis for the remainder of the alternative 36
sentence. If there are concerns regarding the defendant's compliance 37
with the sentencing alternative that have not risen to the level of 38
revocation proceedings, the court shall increase the frequency of the 39
defendant's progress hearings. 40
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(b) Before any progress hearing, the department and the treatment 1
provider shall each submit a written report informing the parties of 2
the defendant's progress and compliance with treatment, unless waived 3
by the court. At the progress hearing, the court shall hear from the 4
parties regarding the defendant's compliance and may modify the 5
conditions of community custody if the modification serves ((the 6
interests of justice and )) the best interests of the defendant , the 7
victim, and the community. 8
(8)(a) If the court imposes this sentencing alternative, the 9
court shall impose conditions under RCW 9.94A.703 that are consistent 10
with this section and may impose any additional conditions 11
recommended by any of the written reports regarding the defendant.12
(b) The court shall impose specific treatment conditions:13
(i) Meet with treatment providers and follow the recommendations 14
provided in the individualized treatment plan as initially 15
constituted or subsequently modified by the treatment provider;16
(ii) Take medications as prescribed, including monitoring of 17
compliance with medication ((if needed)); 18
(iii) Refrain from using alcohol and nonprescribed controlled 19
substances ((if the defendant has a diagnosis of a substance use 20
disorder)). The court may order the department to monitor for the use 21
of alcohol or nonprescribed controlled substances if the court 22
prohibits use of those substances. 23
(9) Treatment issues arising during supervision shall be 24
discussed collaboratively. The treatment provider, community 25
corrections officer, and any representative of the person's medical 26
assistance plan shall jointly determine intervention for violation of 27
a treatment condition. The community corrections officer shall have 28
the authority to address the violation independently if:29
(a) The violation is safety related with respect to the defendant 30
or others; 31
(b) The treatment violation consists of decompensation related to 32
psychosis that presents a risk to the community or the defendant and 33
cannot be mitigated by community intervention. The community 34
corrections officer may intervene with available resources such as a 35
designated crisis responder; or 36
(c) The violation relates to a standard condition for 37
supervision. 38
(10) The community corrections officer, treatment provider, and 39
any engaged representative of the defendant's medical assistance plan 40
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should collaborate prior to a progress update to the court. Required 1
treatment interventions taken between court progress hearings shall 2
be reported to the court as a part of the regular progress update to 3
the court. 4
(11) The court may schedule a review hearing for a defendant 5
under this sentencing alternative at any time to evaluate the 6
defendant's progress with treatment or to determine if any violations 7
have occurred. 8
(a) At a review hearing the court may modify the terms of the 9
community custody or impose sanctions if the court finds that the 10
conditions have been violated or that different or additional terms 11
are in the best interest of the defendant , the victim, and the 12
community. 13
(b) The court may order the defendant to serve a term of total or 14
partial confinement for violating the terms of community custody or 15
failing to make satisfactory progress in treatment.16
(12) The court shall schedule a termination hearing one month 17
prior to the end of the defendant's community custody. A termination 18
hearing may also be scheduled if the department or the state reports 19
that the defendant has violated the terms of community custody 20
imposed by the court. At that hearing, the court may:21
(a) Authorize the department to terminate the defendant's 22
community custody status on the expiration date; or23
(b) Continue the hearing to a date before the expiration date of 24
community custody, with or without modifying the conditions of 25
community custody; or 26
(c) Revoke the sentencing alternative and impose a standard range 27
sentence or impose an exceptional sentence below the standard 28
sentencing range if compelling reasons are found by the court or the 29
parties agree to the downward departure. The defendant shall receive 30
credit for time served while in compliance and actively supervised in 31
the community against any term of total confinement. The court must 32
issue written findings indicating a substantial and compelling reason 33
to revoke this sentencing alternative. 34
(13) ((The)) Within existing resources, the health care authority 35
shall ((reimburse for the following services provided )) contract with 36
at least one, but no more than four, providers to provide all mental 37
health assessments and preliminary treatment plan development for 38
individuals participating in the sentencing alternative((:39
(a) In-custody mental health assessments;40
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(b) In-custody preliminary treatment plan development; and1
(c) Ongoing)). The contracted providers must employ a physician, 2
physician assistant, or advanced registered nurse practitioner with a 3
specialty in psychiatric medicine and experience working with 4
individuals with a criminal history. If the participating individual 5
has medical assistance and is confined in a facility participating in 6
a section 1115 demonstration waiver, there must be an attempt to bill 7
medical assistance prior to seeking reimbursement from the health 8
care authority for in-custody mental health assessments and treatment 9
plan development. The health care authority shall also reimburse for 10
the ongoing monitoring of the defendant's adherence to the 11
defendant's treatment plan and the requirements of the sentencing 12
alternative, including reporting to the court and the department.13
(14) For the purposes of this section((:14
(a) "Serious mental illness" means a mental, behavioral, or 15
emotional disorder resulting in a serious functional impairment, 16
which substantially interferes with or limits one or more major life 17
activities.18
(b) "Victim")), "victim" means any person who has sustained 19
emotional, psychological, physical, or financial injury to person or 20
property as a result of the crime charged. "Victim" also means a 21
parent or guardian of a victim who is a minor child unless the parent 22
or guardian is the perpetrator of the offense. 23
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