I haven't had a chance to read Senate Bill 5525 yet, but I know that groups that try to help offenders made the transition back into the community were devastated when former Washington Corrections Secretary Harold Clarke pretty much got rid of the housing voucher program. (Clarke is back East now.)

Ari Kohn, who works in a post-prison education program, was chief critic of Clarke's move. Its replacement is a program that will helps only about one-tenth as many offenders as the old voucher program. The Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development was put in charge of organizing "mentored" housing arrangements.

Not sure what the status of that program is. (Citizens for Responsible Justice in Tacoma was one of the applicants for grant money to set up a housing program. The group was denied. Long story.)

Sen. Mike Carrell, R-Lakewood, says the state can save money by going back to the voucher program because cons won't be held in prison past their earliest release date so often. I'm assuming new DOC Secretary Eldon Vail is on board with the idea but I'll have to call him this week. After all, this whole legislative session is about saving money.

Carrell rental voucher bill saves taxpayer money, puts less burden on state facilities

OLYMPIA… Under a bill proposed by Sen. Mike Carrell, R-Lakewood, offenders who have served their time and are ready for release could be eligible for rental vouchers to get them into a suitable housing arrangement upon release.

Senate Bill 5525, which is co-sponsored by every member of the Senate Human Services and Corrections Committee, Republicans and Democrats alike, received a public hearing in that committee Thursday.

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“Offenders who have reached the end of their sentence and are ready to be released back to the community often hit a wall when they can’t find housing,” Carrell said, “and in over half the cases of released offenders, homelessness leads to reoffending. My bill would increase public safety by encouraging landlords to rent to these individuals who otherwise wouldn’t have the money to pay for rent. If no suitable housing is available, the Department of Corrections has to keep them in prison until housing can be found, and each day in prison increases the cost to taxpayers.”

According to committee staff, in 2008 DOC held about 600 offenders past their earned early release date for a total of 135,011 bed days, or an average of about 15 weeks per offender. At an average cost of around $612 a week (nearly $32,000 per year), that costs taxpayers about $9,180 per offender per year.

“Under my bill, the state would give vouchers to people coming back into society to give them time to find gainful employment,” Carrell said. “Even if these vouchers amounted to a thousand dollars a month for a maximum of three months, it’s a savings to state taxpayers of over a million dollars a year, and the bottom line is that released offenders are easier to supervise if they have a stable place to live.”