OLYMPIA — Washington began this month to move felons out of prison and into housing where the state is helping them pay the rent.
Five inmates now living in King, Pierce and Spokane counties are each benefitting from $1,500 in assistance for up to three months rent, which is thousands of dollars less than the state would spend caring for them behind bars.
In less than two weeks, a convicted sex offender is expected to move into an Everett apartment, becoming Snohomish County’s first participant in the new state program aimed at emptying prison beds and shaving millions of dollars of criminal justice costs in the process.
Donald Eugene Johns, a Level 3 sex offender, is scheduled for release Sept. 10 from Airway Heights Correction Center near Spokane and be moved into in his new residence a day later.
That same week, another convicted sex offender eligible for assistance will be released from the Twin Rivers unit of the Monroe Correctional Complex. However, that felon, Adrian Keith, won’t get help immediately because Everett police have a hold for his arrest on a different matter. It was unclear Friday when he might be entitled to any financial help.
They were among 31 inmates approved for rental assistance from the state Department of Corrections as of last week. By mid-2011 the number of recipients is projected to exceed 700.
Corrections officials said they are not under pressure to reach the figure quickly.
“We’re ramping up slowly enough so we can support (inmates’) release plan in ways that minimize their risk to the community and save money,” said Anmarie Aylward, administrator of the department’s offender treatment and re-entry programs.
Under the housing voucher program, an inmate is entitled to up to $500-a-month of rental assistance for three months up to a maximum of $1,500. That money does not go to the felon. Instead, the state makes the voucher payments directly to the landlord or owner of a rented property.
Not every inmate qualifies for financial aid. Under consideration now are only offenders like Johns and Keith who have earned an early release because of time served and good behavior but are unable to get out because they either don’t have a home or lack funds to rent one should it become available.
Johns, 49, and Keith, 29, are both serving time for failing to register. Johns’ sentence runs through Aug. 26, 2010, while Keith’s is set to end Oct. 25.
For Johns, it is his fourth conviction for failing to register in seven years for the same offense. Authorities think Johns’ repeated offenses are due to his having been homeless and hope the rental assistance will provide stability he needs to remain compliant.
In the alternatives, keeping him locked up another year would cost taxpayers roughly $36,000 and he might again be homeless when the state must release him in 2010.
Everett police and the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office had no role in selection of Johns and Keith for the program.
“If a sex offender is going to be released, we prefer they have some place to live. It’s much easier to check on a registered sex offender if they have a place to live than it is if they’re homeless,” sheriff’s office spokeswoman Rebecca Hover said.
Everett police will be notifying Johns’ future neighbors of his coming presence.
“It’s good for us to know where (sex offenders) are. And it’s good for them to have a sense of security with a place to live,” Everett police Lt. Ted Olafson said.
The housing voucher program emerged during the 2009 Legislature as lawmakers reduced state spending by roughly $4 billion in the 2009-11 budget, including slicing $120 million from Corrections’ budget.
Focusing on inmates like Johns and Keith who are eligible but cannot get out could eventually save the state millions of dollars.
In 2008, the Department of Corrections held 1,258 offenders past their earned early release date for a total of 135,011 bed days. The state could have saved up to $13.5 million had it not paid for any of those bed days.
Not every inmate who has earned early release will qualify for housing assistance. They also must have a structured plan for supervision and treatment outside the prison plus a place to live. They also will be required to be monitored with GPS ankle bracelets for a period of time.
Legislation creating the new program assumes the state will spend $955,294 on vouchers for 708 offenders through mid-2011. Overall savings in the first two years is projected to be about $1.5 million.
Rep. Kirk Pearson, R-Monroe, the ranking Republican on the House public safety committee, opposed all the cost-saving measures pushed by Democrats.
Reached last week, he said he still doesn’t like the idea of the state helping felons find housing when there are law-abiding residents losing their homes in the recession.
“I want people to be successful and not go back to prison,” he said. “I’m not crazy about giving vouchers to them when there are all these folks losing their homes.
“I am watching this carefully. I didn’t support it and if it is not going the way it should be, I’m going to try to end it.”
Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623; jcornfield@heraldnet.com.
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