Washington Courts: Press Release Detail

Emphasizing Hope: Reentry Conference Guides Women Offenders Towards Successful Future

Building successful lives after prison is possible — by focusing on change, learning from success stories, and making use of helpful resources. This is the core message of the 10th annual Women’s Conference of the Mission Creek Corrections Center for Women, being held this week in Belfair, with the involvement of many Washington judges and justice agencies.

Washington Supreme Court Justice Sheryl Gordon McCloud, Chair of the Gender and Justice Commission, will be among the key speakers at the two-day conference, which is sponsored by the G&J Commission, the Mission Creek Corrections Center, the National Association of Women Judges (NAWJ), the Northwest Justice Project and Tacoma Community College.

“We have two goals. One is to provide the women at Mission Creek with some information to help with all the challenges involved in transitioning back into society,” said Justice Gordon McCloud. “But the other, equally important, goal is to share with these women how much faith we have in their ability to survive and thrive in the future.  We will emphasize second chances, success stories, and hope.”   

Also at the conference, a roundtable of judges will discuss family law, requesting relief from court fines and fees, relicensing, and restoring civil rights. Roundtable judges include Kitsap County District Court Judge Marilyn Paja, King County District Court Judge Laurel Gibson, and King County Superior Court judges Johanna Bender, Judy Ramseyer, Kristin Richardson and Cathy Moore.

Snohomish County District Court Judges Tam Bui, King County District Court Judge Lisa Paglisotti and Federal Way Municipal Court Judge Rebecca Robertson will also attend the conference and Judge Bui will speak. Along with Paglisotti, King County Superior Court Judge Karen Donohue and King County District Court Judge Janet Garrow work on the planning committee on behalf of NAWJ.  

The Women’s Conference was launched in 2009 by the Mission Creek staff to provide resources and address the specific needs of women transitioning back to their families and communities.

Women at the conference this year can attend classes on finding jobs, getting re-licensed, starting businesses, ensuring successful family time, and other important components of transition. Resource tables will offer information on services and resources available to help.

Shortly after the conference, a legal resource computer will be installed at the facility to help women participate in their family law and other court cases. The Northwest Justice Project will also provide training to facility staff volunteers on how to assist women with using this new resource. Mission Creek has no law library, so in 2015 the Northwest Justice Project applied for grant funding to improve legal resources for the Center’s residents. The project was supported by the Gender and Justice Commission and the Department of Corrections.

The Washington State Gender and Justice Commission was established by the state Supreme Court in 1994 to identify measures for preventing gender bias in the courts. The Commission followed the work of the Gender and Justice Task Force, created by the Supreme Court in 1988 to thoroughly research and identify specific gender bias in the judicial system, and to develop recommendations for addressing it.

CONTACT:  Kelley Amburgey-Richardson, Court Program Analyst with the Gender and Justice Commission, (360) 704-4031, kelley.amburgey-richardson@courts.wa.gov