HB 1895 establishes appropriations to the Department of Commerce from the State General Fund in order to provide a grant to Building Bridges East to reduce youth gang involvement, crime, and violence in Eastern Washington.
The department must adopt policies and procedures to administer the new “El Nuevo Camino” pilot project, which must include, but is not limited to:
- provide anti-gang services;
- establish a coordinated effort with committed partners;
- demonstrate a clear plan to engage in long-term anti-gang efforts;
- work to reduce youth gang crime & violence by implementing the comprehensive gang model of the federal juvenile justice and delinquency prevention act of 1974;
- increase mental health services to unserved and underserved youth;
- work to keep high-risk youth in schools, reenroll dropouts, and improve academic performance and behavior;
- provide mentoring services for 10 juvenile rehabilitation parolees.
The pilot project must report to the department by September 1st, 2020 with the outcomes of the project, including:
- number of youth and adults served and the services accessed;
- number of youth satisfactorily completing chemical dependency treatment and mental health treatment in the county;
- estimated change in gang participation and gang violence, dropout and graduation rates, and overall crime rates.
This data shall be reported by the department to the governor’s office and appropriate committees by October 1st, 2020 and October 1st, 2021.
