Gov. Inslee To Visit New Dept. Of Corrections Reentry Center in Wenatchee

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee will make a visit to the Wenatchee Valley on Thursday.

Inslee will tour the Department of Corrections' (DOC) new Wenatchee Valley Reentry Center and be part of a ribbon-cutting ceremony to officially open the facility.

DOC spokesperson Chris Wright says the state's reentry centers are designed to assist inmates who are nearing the end of their sentences adapt back into a life outside of confinement.

"They'll be in there still finishing their sentences but they'll be employed and working on job skills, education, and any treatment they might need. We (DOC) think it's a better way to reacclimate inmates back into society instead of simply walking them to the gate of a prison and saying 'good luck'."

Wright adds the opening of the Wenatchee Valley Reentry Center will be especially significant for several reasons.

"It's the first reentry center to open in the Wenatchee area and the first new center to open statewide in over twenty years."

The new center is located at the site of the old Deaconess Hospital building at 400 Okanogan Avenue in Wenatchee.

Previously, the closest DOC reentry center was the Ahtanum View Reentry Center in Yakima, which is about 120 miles away.

The DOC says the Wenatchee Valley Reentry Center is based on similar facilities in Norway, which Wright says as a nation has what's considered to be the world's premier corrections system.

Inslee's visit is scheduled for 11 a.m.

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