Overflowing Idaho prisons are sending women with good behavior to ‘the hole’
Incarceration rates are rising, and inmates say they’re being punished for the state’s failures to manage prison capacity
Public Health
Oregon woman endures fear and despair in illegal imprisonment in Coffee Creek prison
Terri Lee Brown was released from Coffee Creek Correctional Facility after the Oregon Supreme Court found Gov. Tina Kotek’s order that sent her back to prison was unlawful
Oregon Secretary of State probing staff complaints about racism, mismanagement at early learning department
Auditors are exploring issues revealed in InvestigateWest reporting as possible risks to the department “getting off to a strong and lasting start”
Staff at Providence Center for Medically Fragile Children sound alarm over shrinking space, families turned away
Oregon families of medically fragile children grapple with uncertain future of longtime Providence center
Idaho is losing OB-GYNs after strict abortion ban. But health exceptions unlikely this year.
Doctors, confused about how to practice medicine under Idaho’s abortion ban, pleaded with state legislators for a solution
New WA legislation prioritizes human trafficking prosecutions and support for child victims
Almost $700,000 was allocated to support child victims
Most WA courts aren’t requiring convicted sex buyers to pay mandatory fees intended to address trafficking
Report finds $2.5 million in uncollected fees over last decade
Idaho youth treatment home exposed in InvestigateWest investigation closes down
Advocates express relief but push for greater oversight of facilities statewide
Patients stuck in Washington hospitals pose quandary for state lawmakers
Health officials and hospital operators want to see further action to help patients with conditions like dementia and mental health disorders transition.
A WA worker’s death reveals the limits of safety enforcement
A fatal trench collapse in 2016 set precedent for holding employers criminally liable, but officials still struggle to head off repeat violations.
WA’s new drug law could help needle exchanges — or restrict them
The possession bill passed this year includes $63M for treatment centers. But it also gives local governments the power to regulate them.
Washington faces steep path closing mental health bed gap for jailed defendants
The state has made headway reducing the bed shortfall but it’s expected to persist at least through 2026, even with hundreds of millions of dollars in planned spending.
Idaho Banned Abortion. Then It Turned Down Supports for Pregnancies and Births.
Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year, the state’s GOP-led Legislature has disbanded a maternal mortality committee, failed to expand postpartum Medicaid coverage and turned down federal grants for child care.