Federal Way senator targets lapses in government accountability
Published 8:49 am Tuesday, January 12, 2016
Washington’s 2016 legislative session began Monday and Sen. Mark Miloscia quickly announced plans to tackle the lack of accountability responsible for lapses in state government at Western State Hospital and the Department of Corrections.
“The failure of accountability at many levels of our state government is now leading to the loss of life,” said Miloscia, chair of the Senate Accountability and Reform Committee. “When people don’t report problems and leaders fail to fix them, there is a clear culture of apathy. My first order of business will be getting to the root cause of what is going wrong in our state agencies.”
Western State Hospital, Washington’s largest mental health facility, is under fire from courts and the federal government for safety concerns and long waits for care. The Department of Corrections recently revealed that a software glitch went undetected for a decade and then unaddressed for another three years, releasing over 3,200 inmates before their allotted jail term. So far, early released inmates have been charged in two deaths, one by vehicular homicide and one by first-degree murder.
“It is unconscionable that these issues have taken place over several years,” said Miloscia. “These are not momentary lapses, but the consequence of a culture of apathy among state agencies. We need to identify and resolve these issues before they become another headline about lives lost because the state didn’t do its job.”
Miloscia plans to examine the processes each of these agencies have in place to ensure quality service and the shortcomings of the governor’s accountability office, Results Washington, through hearings in Accountability and Reform Committee. He also intends to introduce legislation to fix the gaps in accountability uncovered by their investigation.
Miloscia concluded, “My focus this session will be continuing my work to restore our government’s integrity and build a new culture of accountability. There’s clearly much more work to be done.”
