WHATCOM COUNTY, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – A state grant has been awarded to expand a Whatcom County program to help repeat criminals out of jail.

The Washington State Healthcare Authority has given the county’s LEAD program $420,000 to hire two intensive case managers.

LEAD, which stands for Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion, currently serves about 140 people convicted of low level criminal offenses from going back to jail. They focus on reducing repeat 911 callers, frequent emergency room visitors and overall jail bookings.

Expanded staffing would allow for up to 170 people to be served at a time.

“Adding two additional intensive case managers will allow us to reduce the waiting list of people who want to participate in the LEAD program,” said Malora Christensen, Response Systems Division Manager. “The expanded staffing should allow us to serve 160-170 participants at any one time. Currently we are serving 140 LEAD participants as of July 2024”.

LEAD states on the county’s website that because of their work, they’ve seen drastic reductions in jail bookings and total days spent in jail.

The new managers are expected to begin work this October.