2 treatment centers may be shut down: Budget ax may hit North, Cedar Hills

For more than 20 years, King County's North Rehabilitation Facility has been a relief valve for overcrowded jails as well as a second chance for thousands of inmates ordered to get treatment for the drugs, alcohol or violence that landed them in trouble.

But the aging former sanitarium in Shoreline may be closed along with the Cedar Hills Addiction Treatment center, one of the state's largest in-patient treatment facilities, under a plan proposed by King County Executive Ron Sims.

Sims wants to eliminate the centers to help contain the spiraling costs of running the county's court and jail system.

The move would save the county about $7 million a year, but the proposal might also affect the county's well-publicized efforts to send nonviolent offenders into treatment instead of jail.

Sims would try to minimize that by spending at least $3 million to expand drug and alcohol treatment at the county's downtown jail. The money would also be used to bolster programs in the community that could help offenders who aren't in jail.

"We hope this will provide a more effective and cheaper way to provide services," said Ethan Raup, Sims' deputy chief of staff. But Raup acknowledged there would be an overall loss of treatment services under the plan.

Social-service advocates say the loss of the facilities will have a major impact, especially on the poor and homeless.

"There will be a lot more people in Pioneer Square," said Jodi Riley-Kauer, Cedar Hills director.

The county has talked of closing the centers before but has always managed to find the money to keep them open in the end. This year, with the county facing a $50 million spending gap, there is less hope of saving the programs.

"The problem has become more immediate," said Councilwoman Carolyn Edmonds, D-Shoreline, whose district includes the North Rehabilitation Facility.

The county opened the minimum-security facility in 1981. The building can house up to 290 inmates, but the county cut 100 beds last year to save money.

The center offers state-certified drug and alcohol treatment, but inmates also can learn to use computers, train to become road-construction flaggers or work on getting a GED diploma.

About one third of the inmates are in court-ordered treatment programs, officials said. While others take part in voluntary programs, many are there to help ease overcrowding at the county's downtown jail and the Regional Justice Center in Kent.

Officials said the former Fircrest hospital is in bad shape and needs to be renovated or replaced. "The money is being saved from not developing the facilities," said Councilman Larry Gossett, D-Seattle, while efforts were still being made "to keep the treatment services available to the extent possible,"

While the 150-bed Cedar Hills Addiction Treatment center doesn't house inmates, it has been an important resource for poor and homeless residents who need drug and alcohol treatment after run-ins with the law.

Although run by the county, the center relies mostly on state contracts to pay the bills. But it has struggled as the cost of treating patients has climbed faster than the state payments.

Sims' proposal, which would become part of the county's annual budget, calls for closing Cedar Hills by the end of the year. The North Rehabilitation Facility would close in 2003.

The move would affect about 120 jobs. While some staff members would be laid off, other county jobs would be sought for as many employees as possible.

The county has been struggling with a growing budget crisis, brought on by the region's sluggish economy and a shrinking property-tax base as more and more land is incorporated into cities. The county has slashed budgets and closed parks in an effort to make up the money.

Criminal-justice costs, which include running the Sheriff's Office, superior and district courts and two jails, are about two-thirds of the county's $497 million general-expense fund.

The recommendations to close the centers are part of an overall plan drafted by court administrators, prosecutors and other state and local officials to reform the county's criminal-justice system.

Much of the effort has focused on slowing demand for jail space. The county expects to run out of beds by 2006 unless it acts now to reduce the number of people behind bars.

Officials hope to push that date back at least another five years by reducing the number of low-risk offenders in its jails. About 970 of the average 2,800 people jailed on any given day in the country are there for misdemeanors.

Information in this article, originally published April 19, was corrected April 21. Councilwoman Carolyn Edmonds represents Metropolitan King County's first district. An earlier version of this story misidentified her.