WHATCOM COUNTY, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – A local program that could have been on the chopping block this year are safe should Governor Ferguson sign the new budget.

According to Whatcom County Health and Community Services (WCHCS), the county’s LEAD program will receive a 30% total budget cut, splitting the difference between the two proposed budget options for the program.

LEAD, meaning Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion, works to keep frequent offenders with mental or substance issues out of the penal system as Whatcom’s prosecutor Eric Richey described in an interview with My Bellingham Now.

“It’s about community safety. We were really concerned that people were being incarcerated that didn’t need to be,” Richey said. “If they could have services, if they could have the support they needed, then we believe they would be less likely to need incarceration to behave well.”

WCHCS spokesperson Marie Junek says that they will be evaluating how to keep the program going in light of the lack of funding at the state level.

Under the previous budget, LEAD is funded half by the state and half from local entities.