Full Timeline

August 2026

• Whatcom County Council approves jail programming which includes preliminary estimates of 450-460 jail bed capacity allowing for the Design phase to begin.

July 2026

• Whatcom County host a Community Engagement Workshop where they present preliminary visuals and plans for the new jail

• Prison Policy Initiative publish a memo on Whatcom County’s Justice Project stating that:

  • The metrics identified by Whatcom County do not support building a bigger jail

  • Increasing jail capacity will further exacerbate the already significant racial disparities in Whatcom County

  • The overuse of pretrial incarceration in Whatcom County makes its communities less safe

June 2026

• Whatcom County presents preliminary programming estimates of the new jail facility to the FFAB with plans to present to the County Council

• FFAB votes on and approves recommending moving ahead with the program as presented as the best path forward under the budget direction provided.

  • Presentation of Program for New Whatcom County Jail

  • FFAB June 18 Meeting Packet

May 2026

• Whatcom County Council approve a construction budget cap of $205 million dollars for the jail and $20 million dollars for the Behavioral Care Center.

• Timeline of development of the jail and behavioral care center:

April 2026

• Whatcom County publishes a Jail Population Forecast Analysis.

• Whatcom County publishes a Behavioral Health Analysis.

• The Finance and Facilities Advisory Board (FFAB) discusses a financial scenario for the Jail Tax and potential recommendations for budget on the Jail and Behavioral Care Center.

March 2026

• Whatcom County hosts its second Community Engagement Workshop on March 19th. Justice Project officials present updates and scenario planning for the jail and behavioral care center.

• Whatcom County enters into a tentative agreement for a new jail site on Hannegan Road.

  • View Whatcom County’s Press Release

February 2026

• The FFAB and Whatcom County Council review different jail construction scenarios with the Executive asking for an April deadline to decide on how to move forward. View the FFAB February Meeting Summary for the detailed scenarios.

January 2026

• Per the recommendations of the Incarceration Prevention and Reduction Task Force and the Finance and Facilities Advisory Board, County Council approves the Division Street site to be their preferred site for the Behavioral Care Center with an out-of-custody model. This facility will be adjacent to the Anne Deacon Crisis Stabilization Center.

• The decision was one of three options presented to the decision makers.

• Further analysis on jail and behavioral center beds is ongoing.

October 2025

• Whatcom County is awarded $3.6 million dollars from Trueblood Diversion Program for permanent supportive housing for residents with behavioral health needs.

September 2025

• Whatcom County’s Health & Community Services presents at the JPOP Committee work on the Jail & Behavioral Care Center - highlighting options for in and out-of-custody.

August 2025

• STV presents a draft jail and behavioral care center capacity needs. The main criteria used to infer bed needs are: county population trend, admissions to the county jail, jail average daily population, jail average length of stay. The numbers below are draft projections and recommendations by STV:

  • The 2030 Plan (480 rated beds)

    • 288 General Population

    • 192 Special Housing and Orientation

  • The 2040 Plan (624 rated beds)

    • 432 General Population

    • 192 Special Housing and Orientation

  • The 2050 Plan (720 rated beds)

    • 528 General Population

    • 192 Special Housing and Orientation

July 2025

• IPRTF approves a motion to recommend the adoption the Evaluation & Performance Measurement Plan to the Council. The Plan seeks to thoroughly evaluated the impact of the Justice Project.

June 2025

• Village Reach submits the Evaluation & Performance Measurement Plan which seeks to evaluated:

  • “how much did we do?”

  • “how well did we do?”

  • “is anyone better off?”

• JPOP facilitators present survey results from currently incarcerated people on desired features and services of the Jail & Behavioral Care Center.

• WREC presents the Follow Along webpage - a platform for community feedback and involvement.

April 2025

• STV, the architectural firm that holds a contract for the development does an overview of their tasks and timeline.

• FFAB introduction to the JPOP Committee.

• Village Reach updates on the Justice Project Evaluation and Performance Measurement Plan. 

February 2025

• The JPOP begins working with Village Reach on the Justice Project Evaluation and Performance Measurement Plan.

• Whatcom County begins jail inmate focus groups and surveys. 

January 2025

• Presentation on design process & objectives – Caleb Erickson, Chief Corrections Deputy 

November 2024

• Justice Project Implementation Plan Year 1 Progress

October 2024

• The JPOP Committee holds its inaugural meeting and begin developing its 2025 action plan.