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Prevention, Restoration, Accountability
July 2026

County Hosts Third Community Engagement Workshop

On Weds, July 22nd, participants got an in-depth look at the features, location, and scope of the new jail. After presentations from the staff and the design team on the Behavioral Care Center and the features of the new jail, attendees explored exhibits showcasing the proposal details, as well as the data, studies and public input that shaped their design. 

You can find many of those materials uploaded to the Justice Project Plans and Reports pages.

Council Reviews Operating Costs, Prepares for Handoff to Design-Build Team

The County Council reviewed operating costs and staffing projects for the new jail at their July 28th Council meeting. This will also include a review of deferred scope items - facility features that were high priority but unable to fit into the budget at this time. The presentation included much of the material that was presented to the public at the Community Engagement Workshop. You can view it here.

On August 11th, Council will have an opportunity to accept the programming for the new facilities which allows the Design Build Team to move forward with their work on the blueprints, permits and site preparation. 

Future decision points are below with the understanding that the project schedule is dependent on actions by the council. 

Whatcom County Superior Court Pretrial Services Implements Remote Court Access Station in Maple Falls

Whatcom County Superior Court Pretrial Services is excited to announce the installation of a remote court access station for all court users located at the East Whatcom Regional Resource Center at 8251 Kendall Road in Maple Falls, Washington.

The access station will provide community members a safe, stable, and convenient location where they can participate in remote court hearings, e-file water adjudication claims, and satisfy court ordered reporting requirements. The remote court access station will remove barriers to access, thereby reducing failure to appear warrants and minimizing pretrial detention.

The Whatcom County Superior Court opened the doors to its Pretrial Services Unit in 2019 with the stated goal of reducing barriers to court engagement and providing community resources to minimize pretrial detention. Pretrial Services provides individualized pretrial support to clients through: Scheduled office, Zoom, and telephonic appointments; Working with clients directly to identify and overcome barriers to compliance and making community-based service referrals; and Providing clients with text message, email, and phone calls to remind them of upcoming court appointments.

Pretrial Services Manager Alan Epps is pleased to announce the remote court access station, stating, “Our office believes that all individuals needing to attend court hearings should have an equal playing field. This access station will help individuals by providing the tools necessary to be successful."

The court access station can be used by community members needing remote access to other courts within Whatcom County, including district and municipal courts.

More information can be found here.

Per the ordinance that implemented the Justice Project sales tax, the Finance and Facilities Advisory Body (FFAB) is required to produce an annual report detailing the expenditures and revenues of the Justice Project funds. That report is available here. 

Per the ordinance that created the Justice Project sales tax, staff is also required to produce an annual spending plan that accounts for anticipated expenditures to the fund. That report is available here. 

Whatcom County Invests Over $22m in Non-Facility Justice Project Goals in 2025

The County has made significant investments towards the goals the Justice Project Implementation plan drawing from sources outside the Public Safety Sales and Use Tax. These programs reduce the need for law enforcement response and help address root causes of incarceration. These investments are outlined below.

$2.9 million - Crisis Response Systems and Diversion

In 2024 and 2025, the County continued to prioritize investment in crisis response and diversion efforts, in alignment with Project 6 from the Justice Project Implementation Plan.

The Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion/Let Everyone Advance with Dignity (LEAD) program helps connect people who have frequent interactions with law enforcement and low-level criminal offenses emanating from behavioral health challenges.

Ground-Level Response and Coordinated Engagement (GRACE) program is a community-based effort to find solutions for individuals who are high utilizers of emergency and criminal justice systems through the use of intensive case managers to address their complex needs and reduce reliance on emergency systems to gain access to care.

The Alternative Response Team (ART) dispatches a social worker in place of a law enforcement officer to address non-dangerous medical incidents related to unmet behavioral health or social needs.

The ongoing work to establish and staff a Severe Weather Shelter continued in 2025 with the shelter opening multiple times throughout the cold weather season.

$6.3 million - Housing

The County continues to invest in a number of affordable and supportive housing projects in alignment with Project 12 of the Justice Project Implementation Plan.

The County utilized $1 million from the County Housing and Supportive Services fund to support the new Lake Whatcom Residential Treatment Center in Birchwood, which provides assisted living facilities for 86 adults with behavioral health challenges. 

In addition to the funds listed below under Aftercare for addressing substance abuse and mental health, an additional $900,000 was spent on permanent supportive housing for people with overlapping disabilities and extended periods of homelessness, and another $640,000 went towards an enhanced emergency shelter for people exiting from institutions.

In 2025, the County was also awarded $3.6 million in grant funding through the Trueblood Diversion Workgroup to expand permanent supportive housing for residents with behavioral health needs. This funding, in partnership with investments from the City of Bellingham, will add 37 new supportive housing units, including 11 units specifically for people who experienced state delays in receiving competency evaluations or restoration services after a criminal charge. Other funders include the Washington State Department of Commerce and a direct appropriation from the state legislature.

$10 million – Addressing Substance Abuse and Mental Health

Behavioral health challenges, including addiction and mental health, continue to be one of the root causes of incarceration. To help carry out Strategy II of the Justice Project Implementation plan, the County uses a “PITA” framework to invest funds across four key areas from the Behavioral Health Sales Tax.

• Prevention ($1.8m in 2025): Youth programs to treat substance use, mental health challenges, build healthy habits, and support families. During the 2024-2025 school year, 2,582 youth received direct mental health and substance use support. Most of these services (75%) reached students living outside of Bellingham. Research shows that every $1 spent on these school programs can save $18 down the road.
• Intervention ($4.1m in 2025): Helping people deal with unhealthy behaviors, housing, legal, or health struggles as they appear.
• Treatment ($2.7m in 2025): Providing intensive care for mental illness, substance use, reentry after incarceration, and reducing recidivism.
• Aftercare ($1.4m in 2025): Supporting long-term mental health recovery and stable housing. These programs reinforce healthy behaviors and crime-free lifestyles.

$3 million - Jail Services

In alignment with Project 4 and Project 15 of the Justice Project Implementation Plan, the County has made several investments in Jail Health, moving to a new provider in 2026 that provides 24-hour service to incarcerated individuals.

This increase in the level of service represents an additional investment of over $3 million in this service.

County correctional staff have also applied for and received a state waiver to use Medicaid funds for the behavioral health and medical expenses for incarcerated individuals. This went into effect July 2026.

Together this represents more than $22.2 million in service investments towards the goals of the Justice Project.