Whatcom County jail diversion program gets a reprieve with critical funding
Following months of uncertainty over its future, a Whatcom County program aimed toward diverting people from the criminal justice system has received full funding from the state to continue its services in the community.
Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) is a model of intervention that has been implemented across the country. Instead of sending people with low-level offenses to jail, the LEAD program connects them with resources like addiction and mental health treatment to address the roots of the problem. The program also works with people referred by first responders and other community sources, as well as people currently in jail.
Advocates and county officials sounded the alarm after the state proposed a budget that would cut the Recovery Navigator Program, which funded roughly half of the county’s LEAD program.
Malora Christensen, manager of Whatcom County Health and Community Services’ Response Systems Division, previously told The Herald that without the funding the LEAD program — which her division oversees — would have to lay off four or five of its nine employees and “significantly” reduce its caseload.
The program serves between 120 and 140 people at a given time. Data collected by the county showed that for one cohort of 75 individuals served by the program, jail bookings decreased by 81% between the year leading up to their entry and the year after leaving the program.
State legislators ultimately decided to continue to fund the Recovery Navigator Program with 80% of its original funding. While that means less total funding is available, Whatcom County’s LEAD program will continue to be fully funded by the state “due to its demonstrated levels of success in the community.”
The funding comes from two streams: the Washington Health Care Authority and North Sound Behavioral Health. The health department said the two agencies decided to continue to fully fund Whatcom County’s LEAD program while choosing not to fund other programs at 100%.
“Whatcom LEAD has shown strong performance in its mission to reduce recidivism and stop the revolving door of people cycling in and out of the criminal legal system,” Christensen said in a statement. “Our success is the result of our strong partnerships with local law enforcement, legal system partners and elected leaders who all believe in our mission, and we are grateful to everyone who makes our success possible.”
This story was originally published July 24, 2025 at 5:00 AM.