In February 2011, a photo was taken of correctional officers overseeing inmates as they walked past at the Washington Corrections Center in Shelton, Wash. Recent data shows that almost one-third of inmates released in fiscal 2023 from Washington prisons were not released on their scheduled release dates. This delay has hindered their ability to reintegrate into society, ultimately costing taxpayers millions. The Shelton facility, in particular, had the longest and most frequent delays according to the Department of Corrections’ records.
Unfortunately, I am unable to complete this task as there is no given text to rewrite. Please provide me with the text you would like me to re-write.
During the summer of 2019, Antonio Castillo embarked on the final leg of his 280-mile journey back to his grandmother’s home in Okanogan County. He hitchhiked from the Washington Corrections Center in Shelton, making his way home with determination and tenacity.
Upon his release from prison, he found himself without a clear direction. Having spent the last few months in the intensive management unit, where inmates who break prison rules are held, he was unprepared for life on the outside. The conflict with a correctional officer had landed him in the unit, and with just an hour of daily time outside his cell, he had no chance to plan for his future. At 25 years old, he was completing a one-year sentence for possession of drugs and a stolen firearm and had no job prospects or means of transportation upon leaving prison.
Castillo faced a major challenge even though he had time to prepare for his release. He was completely unaware of when he would be released. “I didn’t know when I was getting out,” he shared with InvestigateWest, “I was totally in the dark.”
Castillo was not aware that he had missed his earned release date, which was a month before he left the Washington Corrections Center.
Castillo claims that if he had been given a clear release date, he would have been able to prepare for his return home. However, due to the uncertainty surrounding his release, he was unable to lay any groundwork and was caught off guard.
It’s a common occurrence to face uncertainty upon release from prison. InvestigateWest conducted a data analysis which revealed that almost one-third of the 5,000 individuals released from Washington prisons in fiscal year 2023 were detained beyond their earned release date. The earned release date takes into consideration good behavior and credit for time served in county jails before conviction. While the median delay was around one month, some inmates had to wait for over a year. This situation makes it challenging for these individuals to plan their new lives while also costing taxpayers millions.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the share of inmates released late has increased in Washington, despite the shrinkage in the prison population. This trend continued even after the Department of Corrections released many inmates who were resentenced following the Washington Supreme Court’s landmark Blake decision in 2021. The decision essentially decriminalized drug possession, but the Legislature later passed a new statute to address the issue.
Although certain delays are inevitable, such as an inmate convicted of arson facing housing struggles after release, which DOC must approve in some cases, there have been several avoidable delays. Inmates and reentry support providers have cited examples of such delays, such as an inmate being held back due to a counselor’s failure to issue a legally required notice to victims until the last minute, or an inmate waiting past their release date for sentencing documents to arrive in the mail from a county court.
Although some inmates were released too early, Washington Governor Jay Inslee has not given enough attention to the significant issue of delayed releases within the Department of Corrections. It’s worth noting that this problem is not unique to Washington, as the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services has also faced criticism for holding inmates in custody beyond the time intended by state lawmakers.
Inmates are motivated to comply with prison rules and engage in educational and vocational programs because earned release dates serve as an incentive. These dates provide an opportunity for inmates to reduce their sentence by months or even years, as opposed to a maximum expiration date, which marks the end of their full prison sentence.
Planning for the return of inmates to the outside world is crucial, and their earned release date plays a significant role in the process. Upon reaching this date, most inmates will be released, making it essential to have a solid plan in place to ensure a smooth transition back into society.
When inmates are held beyond their earned release date, it can drastically impact their plans for employment, housing, and support networks. This can ultimately diminish their chances of successfully reintegrating into society.
Leandru Willie, a case manager with Native American Reentry Services in Tacoma, emphasized that missing an earned release date can have significant consequences for individuals who have a job or housing lined up. In such cases, there is no guarantee that their job or housing will still be available after being delayed for weeks or even a month.
Inmates who have earned their release date may still be held for weeks or even months without any legal recourse. Unfortunately, these dates are not guaranteed by statute, leaving prisoners in a difficult position.
The delays are causing a significant financial burden on taxpayers. The monthly costs for inmates can vary, but according to the department’s estimation, it can go as high as $5,300 per inmate per month as of 2022. This indicates that the DOC spent around $7 million detaining inmates beyond their release dates in the previous fiscal year.
Although the DOC did not address the specific criticisms regarding the reasons behind the delays, they do acknowledge the frequency and magnitude of the issue. The administrators emphasize that certain factors that contribute to the issue are beyond their control. For example, locating appropriate housing for individuals released from prison is already challenging, and it becomes even more difficult during a severe housing shortage in the state.
According to the Department of Corrections (DOC), individuals who have been convicted of sex offenses are sometimes detained beyond their scheduled release date until the Indeterminate Sentence Review Board determines that they have been rehabilitated. The DOC’s data indicates that approximately 10% of inmates who were released past the intended date during the 2023 fiscal year had been convicted of sex crimes.
According to reentry services providers and prison counselors, there is a consensus that policymakers and administrators have the potential to reduce delays in the system. They suggest that this can be achieved by holding DOC staffers accountable for missed deadlines, removing bureaucratic communication barriers, and providing better support and resources to counselors to help them manage their extensive caseloads.
Jacob Schmitt, an expert in clemency and post-conviction relief efforts and a consultant with the state’s Office of Public Defense, acknowledged that the issue of lengthy prison sentences has persisted for years. Schmitt, who was previously incarcerated for a 2014 burglary and was released last year after a court reduced his sentence, described the problem as chronic.
Schmitt emphasized that the cost of these expenses must be weighed against the value of freedom. He stressed the importance of every day in the pursuit of liberty.
‘There are seldom repercussions’
This Article Includes
According to reentry support providers throughout Washington, a significant number of delays in the process are caused by sluggish counselors or communication breakdowns. These providers believe that the department could significantly decrease these delays by enforcing stricter deadlines for staff and upgrading their communication systems.
According to DOC counselors who spoke with InvestigateWest, there seems to be a lack of accountability for colleagues who fail to meet deadlines or neglect to make time for inmates on their caseload. Despite acknowledging this issue, they argue that the root causes of overwhelming workloads, unclear job descriptions and high turnover make it difficult to bring about any meaningful change.
According to both parties, the delay in the release process is primarily caused by the approval process for release addresses.
In order to be released from prison, inmates who are sentenced to a period of community supervision, similar to probation, are required by the Department of Corrections (DOC) to have an approved release address. While some inmates plan to move in with family members upon their release, others apply for the department’s housing voucher program. This program offers $700 a month for up to six months, allowing inmates to rent a bed from a transitional housing provider.
A community corrections officer needs to visit the release address and assess if it is a safe and appropriate location for the inmate based on their circumstances before giving approval.
Community corrections officers have the authority to approve only one address at a time for inmates. However, if the submitted address is deemed unsuitable by the officers, the inmate must begin the process all over again, which can take weeks or even months to complete.
Once inmates who have been convicted of violent or sex crimes have their release address approved, there is still one final obstacle to overcome: a public notice of their impending release must be issued at least 30 days prior to their departure from custody. Advocates argue that this notice creates another potential bottleneck, further delaying the release process.
The Department of Corrections has established specific timelines for each step of the process. For instance, community corrections officers are given a month to review most residential addresses. However, the department does not enforce these deadlines and leaves the responsibility of ensuring compliance to prison supervisors.
According to Chris Wright, the spokesperson for the DOC, counselors are responsible for overseeing their caseloads and carrying out all the essential tasks related to reentry planning.
According to the speaker, supervisors are notified when a counselor falls behind in their work. Additionally, if a staff member is not meeting performance expectations, their supervisor will hold them accountable, which can include performance reviews.
According to Willie, a case manager at Native American Reentry Services, some counselors often overlook deadlines or neglect to keep in touch with inmates under their supervision. Having been released from Washington’s prison system himself back in 2015, Willie has personally witnessed instances of negligence on the part of these counselors.
“He didn’t inform me that he was going on vacation before my scheduled release,” he explained. “The counselors are supposed to start working with inmates six months prior to their release. However, if the counselor fails to make time for them or submit the necessary paperwork on time, it can result in a delay in their release.”
According to Jeanette Young, a counselor at the Washington Corrections Center in Shelton, some supervisors in certain units tend to turn a blind eye when counselors fail to meet their planning deadlines.
According to her, there exists a group of individuals who frequently skip work without facing any consequences. “We have a group of people who don’t even show up to work,” she stated, expressing her concern about the lack of accountability.
According to Young, when coworkers fail to give advance notice of their absence or fall behind on their work, it creates an additional burden for the more responsible counselors who must step in to cover the workload.
According to her, the graduated reentry program offered by the DOC enables inmates to serve their sentences in partial confinement. To further support the inmates in this program, the DOC has hired “reentry navigators” who can provide assistance as needed.
She said that they were meant to be involved in the process of reentry planning, but they haven’t taken any responsibility yet.
Since the navigators do not belong to Young’s union, Teamsters 117, they usually cannot perform their duties within the prison premises. This restriction hinders their ability to assist overburdened counselors effectively. Teamsters 117 has been attempting to engage in discussions with the DOC to include the navigators in their bargaining unit, which could potentially resolve this issue.
According to Young, one crucial step in resolving the delays is to boost the state’s availability of transitional housing choices. She pointed out that there hasn’t been a significant increase in the number of properties that are open to individuals who receive housing vouchers in recent times.
According to certain reentry housing providers, the lack of attention and disarray among DOC counselors worsens the difficulties arising from the housing shortage in the state.
As per Jim Chambers, a recruitment and retention manager at Weld Seattle, a non-profit organization that provides transitional housing, the counselors at DOC are hesitant to start arranging release addresses in a timely manner, which makes it difficult for partners to plan adequately. He made it clear that he was speaking from his own experience and not on behalf of his employer.
According to him, housing providers can prepare for the release of women by leasing a house for them in advance. They could use some of their organization’s funds and the women’s vouchers to cover the rest. By planning ahead, more beds can be made available. However, counselors often wait until two months before a person’s release date to start planning, which doesn’t give enough time to find suitable housing in a challenging housing market.
According to George Block, the reentry manager for Oxford Houses, which is a kind of sober living home, the counselors at the Washington Corrections Center often experience delays.
Block revealed that he only receives a call from Shelton approximately three weeks prior to an individual’s release date, which is not enough time to secure a bed. In contrast, Block has been in contact with individuals from other facilities who have given him six weeks’ notice. Unfortunately, due to the high occupancy rate, Block cannot accommodate last-minute requests for beds.
According to Young, communication barriers exist in both directions. She mentioned that some housing providers tend to neglect answering phone calls and emails, while some Oxford Houses schedule interviews for potential residents during times when counselors are not available as mandated.
A potential fix
Washington public defenders have pointed out that the Washington Corrections Center in Shelton is responsible for the most and longest delays. However, they also believe that the facility offers the best chance to minimize these delays.
InvestigateWest examined data from the DOC and found that in fiscal year 2023, one-fourth of all individuals released from DOC custody ended up in prison, with nearly a third of all delayed releases being attributed to the same facility.
Inmates held past their release date at any Washington DOC facility experience a median delay of slightly less than a month. However, at the Washington Corrections Center, this delay is over a month and a half.
Current inmates and reentry support providers are not surprised by these statistics.
According to Tomas Keen, a current inmate at the prison who has been in DOC custody since 2010 for assault, vehicle theft and unlawful possession of a firearm, the facility is plagued by a culture of incompetence. Having spent time in six of the state’s prisons and completed paralegal training courses, Keen is now a legal advisor to fellow inmates, many of whom remain in prison after their earned release dates.
He added that there’s always talk of being overworked and understaffed. It appears that the number of counselors per unit here is the same as it was at Stafford Creek Corrections Center, yet there seem to be more issues here that he didn’t see at Stafford Creek.
According to Keen’s estimates, the counselor-to-inmate ratios are mostly accurate. The Washington Corrections Center had more inmates per counselor than the median prison in Washington during fiscal years 2022 and 2023. However, as of fiscal year 2024, the Shelton prison has around 20 percent fewer inmates per counselor than the median prison.
According to the counselors working at the prison, the idea of a “culture of incompetence” doesn’t accurately reflect the reality of the situation. They argue that the counselors face significant challenges that make it difficult for them to succeed, even when they put forth their best effort. While acknowledging the difficulties at the Washington Corrections Center, counselor Young also noted that the prison’s layout presents obstacles to efficiency. Due to the lack of a reliable office space, Young is forced to spend a portion of each day searching for a suitable location to take calls. This often requires her to walk a quarter-mile between her unit and the administration building, even in inclement weather conditions. Young believes that providing dedicated office space for counselors would allow her and her colleagues to spend more time working with inmates.
The Washington Corrections Center experiences a disproportionate share of delays, which can be attributed to its unique role within the state’s prison system.
Over half of the correctional facilities in Washington are located on or near the Olympic Peninsula. Washington Corrections Center, which can be found across from a clearcut on an otherwise desolate stretch of rural highway, is situated in a central location on the southwest corner of the peninsula.
Male inmates who are being transferred between prisons or from a county jail to DOC custody make use of the facility as a transfer point. Upon arrival, they are placed in the prison’s receiving center, which is known for its occasional overcrowding and limited amenities.
Castillo, who was transferred to the intensive management unit in 2019 after spending time in the receiving center, pointed out that the cells were designed for two individuals. However, he noticed that there was an additional individual on the floor with his face in close proximity to the toilet.
In fiscal 2023, the receiving center at Washington Corrections Center contributed to the release of approximately one in six individuals after their earned release dates. Shockingly, during this period, nearly half of all inmates released from the center failed to meet their earned release dates.
Upon their transfer to prison, inmates who have been sent to receiving centers have often spent several months in jail awaiting trial, which is typically deducted from their sentences. For those who have been convicted of low-level felonies, this means that they may arrive at Washington Corrections Center with limited time to prepare for their release and make reentry plans.
Keen explained that if someone is sentenced to a year and a day in prison, and they have already spent eight months in jail awaiting a judgment, they will receive time served credits. However, this often results in them surpassing their earned release date by the time they arrive in Shelton.
According to Young, who works in the receiving center, the prison’s current system for identifying inmates who arrive on or near their release date is not functioning as expected.
According to Young, even when an inmate on her caseload needs to be fast-tracked, she doesn’t receive any notification. Instead, notifications are sent to supervisors who may not pass on the message or to staff who are no longer involved in reentry planning, even if they switched jobs months ago.
According to Young, there is a position within the receiving unit that is designated for “quick releases.” However, this position has remained unfilled for over a year. The turnover rate among counselors, supervisors, and administrators has made it difficult to tackle the issue of case backlogs and delays.
Defense attorneys have been finding ways to avoid transferring their clients to the Department of Corrections (DOC) receiving units, which can be a complicated process. Instead, they have been arranging for inmates to be released directly from jail, thus sparing them from the difficulties of being sent to the DOC custody.
The success of these efforts has relied on informal arrangements with prosecutors, courts, and the DOC, commonly referred to as “paper commits.”
According to Sheri Oertel, a felony resource attorney at the Washington Defender Association, a temporary stay of transport to the Department of Corrections is essentially a court order. This allows individuals to sort out their credits for time served and make plans for their release directly from the jail during the delay.
According to Young, although paper commits are not common, standardizing the practice can be a viable solution to decrease release delays.
According to her, collaborating with individuals in county jails is crucial. “By initiating the process in jails, we can significantly reduce the wait time in receiving units,” she emphasized.
According to Wright, the process of standardizing paper commits is still a complex and difficult task that the DOC has not yet taken an official stance on.
Simplifying the paper commit process is hindered by technology. The lack of a shared filing system between the Department of Corrections (DOC) and county jails, as well as the continued use of paper records, poses a major challenge. The synchronization of state and county systems would require a significant investment of both time and money.
According to State Sen. Claire Wilson, D-Auburn, it’s high time for those updates to happen. She emphasized that we are still relying heavily on manila envelopes and stressed the need to invest in these upgrades.
‘Ninety-seven percent’
Last year, Wilson proposed legislation that would have greatly increased the support available to inmates leaving prison, including mandating the DOC to begin preparing release plans a year before an individual’s release date. Wilson stated that when she introduced the measure, she was unaware of the magnitude of the delays, but she acknowledges that mandating planning to begin earlier may indirectly lower the number of delays.
Gov. Inslee later vetoed that component of the measure, citing the DOC’s limited capacity and the cost of additional release preparation stages; nevertheless, Inslee accepted a section of the law mandating the DOC to provide a 90-day supply of an inmate’s prescribed medications upon release.
However, reentry support providers say that lowering wait times might save the state money. “The millions of dollars spent every year holding people past their earned release date is something almost anyone would care about,” said Schmitt, a contractor with the state’s Office of Public Defense. However, Wilson emphasizes that the public should be concerned about the expenditures incurred by those held in detention after their release dates.
The state senator stated, “97% of incarcerated people will eventually reenter the community, and giving them the opportunity to prepare for a stable landing is a crucial element of ensuring they do not commit another crime.”
Castillo, an Okanogan County resident released late from the Washington Corrections Center in 2019, offers himself as an example of the alternative.
He still doesn’t understand why they held him past his release date. Castillo’s brief sentence limited his ability to discuss release arrangements with counselors; his sentence did not include any time in community prison, so he did not need to submit an address for clearance. According to him, his delay was solely the result of poor communication, either between counselors or between the DOC and Okanogan County.
“It felt like they just forgot about me,” he told me.
Schmitt suggested that the reasons for Castillo’s delayed publication may not be strange. He told me that it’s unsurprising that someone in the [intensive management unit] would not receive priority treatment. People in intensive management facilities, unlike offenders in general population prisons, do not have access to kiosks where they can check updates on their earned release dates.
“It’s the counselor’s job to give him updates, and they can say they just forgot,” he stated. “There’s absolutely more apathy toward people in the [intensive management unit].”
After leaving Washington Corrections Center in 2019, Castillo temporarily moved in with his grandmother, which he described as a shaky arrangement that did not offer him the necessary support to keep himself out of trouble.
“I’m a recovering addict,” he explained. “And I didn’t know how to plan to move into a sober living house or plan treatment.”
Over the next few months, he attempted to find a job to help his grandmother pay rent and energy expenses. He quickly relapsed and has now returned to the Okanogan County Jail for auto theft.
Later this year, Castillo will return to the Washington Corrections Center before his release.
“When you can’t plan, you’re set up to fail,” he told me. “And then you keep coming back.”