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“The Impact” – May 30, 2018: Mental health system overhaul; Criminal sentencing changes

Mike McClanahan profile by Mike McClanahan

This week on “The Impact”:

Hear why state leaders are pushing a major overhaul of mental health care delivery while dealing with federal scrutiny and the day to challenges of aging facilities.

“On any given day something happens at Western State Hospital,” said DSHS Secretary Cheryl Strange.

“We’ve got to stop pouring resources into an outdated model and instead an investment in a system that is up to the today’s day and age systems,” said Gov. Jay Inslee – D.

“Think of this as, this is a bad analogy perhaps, but McCleary two. This is the second biggest priority for this legislature next to education,” said Sen. Steve O’Ban, R – Pierce County.

There are also big changes on the table for state criminal sentencing guidelines. We’ll discuss the counter intuitive research behind some of the policy shifts and the competing philosophies behind the criminal justice system – punishment vs. rehabilitation.

 “Just locking somebody up for a period of time doesn’t necessarily have any effect on the chances of them committing another crime,” said Russ Hauge, Chair of the Washington State Sentencing Guidelines Commission. “We’re not just interested with our system of punishment in fixing people. We are here to hold people accountable.”

We’ll also tell you about the monumental Columbia River Treaty negotiations between the U.S. and Canada, and the controversy over who is not at the bargaining table.

Click here to watch “The Impact” – May 30th, 2018