Thurston County’s alternative courthouse pilot program is a hybrid version of San Diego’s homeless justice programthat allows homeless people to resolve misdemeanor offenses while working to address the root cause of their homelessness.

There are currently no eligibility requirements or restrictions in the county’s pilot program. Individuals can participate in those of the county the new pilot program if they are homeless and have a misdemeanor, felony, simple possession charge or warrant outstanding in district court.

However, a person’s public defender and prosecutor must agree that the person would be a good fit for the program in order for them to be accepted.

There will be a staggered capacity of only 10 participants at a time, starting with five participants in the first month. The pilot program will last one year.

San Diego’s homeless court, considered the model for such a setup, excludes only domestic violence and sex crimes. Thurston County will not exclude these crimes at the request of the prosecutor’s office and public defenders, according to Thurston County Criminal Justice Regional Program Manager Leah Landon.

Thurston County Alternative Program Implementation Committee – The Court agreed that the Thurston County Public Defender and the Thurston County District Attorney’s Office should be free to prosecute any non-tort cases by agreement.

“Generally speaking, sex crime and domestic violence cases will not be considered unless the Assistant District Attorney determines that such a referral is in the best interest of justice after consulting with the victim,” Landon emailed The Center Square.

The San Diego Homeless Court Team explained to The Center Square that it excludes domestic violence and sex-related crimes because states have different legal requirements for certain types of cases, including domestic violence and sex-related cases. All jurisdictions that have homeless courts also have their own referral and hiring parameters.

Landon emphasized that Thurston County’s pilot program is not a diversion program, but serves as a process that sends people accused of non-felony crimes into a participating service provider program that provides a needs assessment and coordinated services.

If a service provider is unable to resolve a participant’s specific problem, the county will assist in providing that person with another service provider.

Homeless Court gives homeless offenders credit for time spent in the program. This allows them to receive services designed to address the root causes of homelessness while reconciling legal involvement.

According to Landon, the implementation of the program is funded from existing resources, without the use of additional county funds.

The Thurston County Alternative Program – Courthouse will be launched on December 1st.