Washington
STATE
POLICY:
I. The Department has established procedures to ensure equitable treatment of transgender, intersex, and/or non-binary individuals when determining housing, classification, programming, and supervision.
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V. Housing and Programming Reviews
A. Initial housing reviews will be completed, approved, and submitted within 15 business days of disclosure of the individual as transgender, intersex, or nonbinary.
1. The facility MDT will document housing reviews and make a recommendation on DOC 02-384 Housing Protocol for Transgender, lntersex, and Non-binary Individuals, which will be forwarded with the signed DOC 02-420 Preferences Request and all related documentation to the Director of PREA Services and designated Deputy Assistant Secretary for Prisons.
a. For community violators who disclose, the receiving facility will conduct the review.
2. Local Facility Risk Management Team (FRMT) processes will be suspended until the housing review has been approved.
B. The designated Deputy Assistant Secretary for Prisons will review housing protocol recommendations with the Headquarters MDT to determine final recommendations and forward all related documentation to the Deputy Secretary/designee for review and approval.
1. If DOC 02-384 Housing Protocol for Transgender, lntersex, and Nonbinary Individuals is approved by the Deputy Secretary/designee indicating transfer to another Prison/Reentry Center, the receiving facility will complete Part II of the form.
2. If placement within the facility has not been approved by the Deputy Secretary/designee before the individual arrives at the facility, the individual will be placed in optional housing (e.g., restrictive housing, inpatient unit) until the Deputy Secretary/designee makes a final housing decision.
a. Placement in restrictive housing will be used as care and separation and not as a punitive measure. Placement will adhere to expectations in DOC 320.255 Restrictive Housing and be reviewed every 30 days by the PREA Compliance Manager.
1) Any exceptions will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis by the Mission Housing Administrator and the Gender Affirming Program Administrator, Gender Affirming Medical Specialist, and mental health team.
C. The facility MDT will reassess housing and programming assignments at least every 6 months or as needed using DOC 02-385 Housing Review for Transgender, lntersex, and Non-binary Individuals for each individual who identifies as transgender and/or non-binary or is intersex.
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VI. Preferences and Housing Placement Requests
A. At any time, an individual may voluntarily submit DOC 02-420 Preferences Request to their case manager designating their preferred name, pronoun(s), gender to conduct searches/urinalysis, and gender identity, and to request gender-affirming state-issued garments and/or placement in gender-affirming housing.
B. If an individual requests to be transferred to a gender-affirming facility, the case manager will make a referral for the facility cultural awareness course facilitated by a Gender Affirming Mental Health Specialist (GAMHS) and/or Gender Affirming Program Administrator (GAPA) and will include meetings with a mental health employee and an employee from the gender-affirming facility.
1. An employee will meet with the individual within 5 business days to review their request and enroll the individual in the next available course.
2. The individual may directly kite the GAPA to request placement in the course.
C. After successful completion of the course, the individual will complete the Gender-Affirming Housing Request section on DOC 02-420 Preferences Request.
D. The Associate Superintendent/Correctional Program Manager will complete a review of risk factors on DOC 02-423 Gender-Affirming Housing Review and email to the Psychologist 4 or Psychology Associate in stand-alone Level 2 facility to initiate the Health Services review.
1. The completed form will be returned to the case manager within 14 days unless additional time is needed to complete necessary assessments (i.e., Static 99, PCL-R, HCR-20, or forensic assessment).
2. The case manager will forward the form to the facility MDT within 5 days of receipt.
E. The facility MDT will make a recommendation on DOC 02-384 Housing Protocol for Transgender, lntersex, and Non-binary Individuals, which will be forwarded with the completed DOC 02-420 Preferences Request and DOC 02-423 GenderAffirming Housing Review to the designated Deputy Assistant Secretary for Prisons within 5 business days.
1. The Headquarters MDT will review all documentation and make a recommendation within 15 days to the Deputy Secretary who will make the final determination.
F. If an individual’s request for gender-affirming housing is denied, the individual may submit a subsequent request at the next classification review.
G. Individuals placed in a gender-affirming facility may be transferred to another facility or returned to the originally assigned facility due to documented, objective safety and security concerns.
VII. Housing Appeals
A. Individuals may appeal housing decisions in writing to the following.
1. Appropriate Deputy Assistant Secretary/designee for decisions made based on facility recommendations, or
2. Secretary/designee for decisions made by the Headquarters MDT.
B. Responses to appeals will be made within 15 business days.
State Policy: State of Washington Department of Corrections Policy No. 420.140, Housing and Cell/Room Assignment, revised July 17, 2023
IV. Housing for Transgender, lntersex, and/or Non-Binary Individuals
A. If an arriving individual who identifies as transgender and/or non-binary or is intersex does not have a PREA Risk Assessment and DOC 02-384 Housing Protocol for Transgender, lntersex, and Non-binary Individuals on file, the individual will be evaluated by appropriate personnel and temporarily assigned to the least restrictive housing pending final outcome of a facility MDT per DOC 490.700 Transgender, lntersex, and/or Non-Binary Individuals.
1. In Prisons, an individual who is at high risk for sexual victimization will be housed separately only if there is no available alternative means of separation from likely abusers.
a. Placement in general population is permitted with approval of the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Women’s Prisons/Gender Responsive Administrator.
1) It must be documented in writing as a statement or on DOC 02-420 Preferences Request signed by the individual that they feel safe to remain in general population.
2. In Reentry Centers, the individual will be housed in a single person room or a room with an individual(s) assessed as “No Risk”.
3. Individuals in transit through a Reception Diagnostic Center (RDC) will be asked by the sending facility if they feel safe in general population while at the RDC, and ensure it is documented on DOC 02-420 Preferences Request.
a. If the individual does not feel safe, housing will be assigned to the least restrictive alternative available pending transfer to the assigned facility.
b. A referral to mental health will be made and/or follow-up will occur if necessary.
B. If an individual requests to be transferred to a gender-affirming facility, the case manager will use the Employee Manual for the Identification, Treatment, and Correctional Management of Transgender, lntersex, and Non-binary Individuals per DOC 490.700 Transgender, lntersex, and/or Non-Binary Housing and Supervision.
VI. Housing Assignments
E. Individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and non-binary may not be placed in dedicated facilities/areas within a facility.
1. Superintendents will ensure:
a. Dedicated placements do not occur,
b. Individuals are not grouped together within a facility based solely on this status, and
c. Employees who make housing assignments are aware of this prohibition.
2. The PREA Compliance Manager/designee will conduct periodic reviews of the housing assignments of these individuals to ensure dedicated placements do not occur.
NOTE: In October 2023 the State of Washington Department of Corrections (“DOC”) entered into a settlement agreement to improve the conditions of confinement for transgender individuals in DOC’s care and custody. Under the terms agreed upon, DOC will designate a Gender-Affirming Mental Health Specialist and a Gender-Affirming Mental Health Community Consultant at each prison, require more transgender-focused training to correctional officers, deliver gender-affirming medical and mental health care to transgender individuals consistent with guidelines for healthcare of transgender individuals, and provide gender-affirming clothing to transgender individuals. Pat-downs and searches of transgender individuals will be performed by a correctional officer of the gender formally requested by the transgender individual. DOC will be monitored for three years to make sure it is properly complying with the agreement.
LOCAL
King County
This policy applies to all employees and establishes guidelines for the appropriate treatment of gender-diverse individuals who come in contact with the Seattle Police Department. Employees will consider a person to be gender-diverse if the person identifies themselves as such, or, if upon reasonable belief that a person may be gender-diverse, the employee asks and receives an affirmative response. Employees will use their own discretion on whether to ask a person of their gender identity.
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Officers will not subject gender-diverse individuals to more invasive pat-downs and/or search procedures than non- gender-diverse individuals.
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Officers will house gender-diverse suspects/prisoners in SPD holding cells alone, whenever possible.
If there are no individual holding cells available, a supervisor will arrange for the gender-diverse suspect/prisoner to have a cell, be transported, or released, when practical.
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When officers transport a gender-diverse individual to the King County Jail, or otherwise transfers custody to another law enforcement agency, or other facility, the officer will verbally advise the receiving agency/officer that the individual is gender-diverse.
The officer will relay any relevant identification related information, including how the individual would like to be addressed.