Following the recent early prisoner release scandal, the state Senate on Feb. 17 passed a plan proposed by Sen. Mark Miloscia (R-Federal Way) to introduce quality management principles to the troubled Washington State Department of Corrections.

Miloscia brought the plan forward after Corrections officials admitted they had no quality management plan in place.

“I’m tired of waiting for our state agencies to be held accountable,” said Miloscia, who chairs the Senate Accountability and Reform Committee. “When lives are being lost as a result of government mismanagement, it’s clear we need a significant overhaul of the standards of quality we expect of our critical services. This simply applies the most trusted performance standards being used across the planet to the Dept. of Corrections.”

In December, it was revealed that over 3,700 inmates had been released before the end of their sentences as a result of a sentencing error that went unreported for more than a decade. Miloscia’s plan would implement in the Department of Corrections some Lean management practices – an approach to running an organization that supports the concept of continuous improvement – while holding the agency to the Baldrige Excellence Framework for government organizations, an internationally recognized program for quality performance.

The State Auditor’s Office would audit the agency’s performance management processes and require the agency to report to the Legislature and Governor on its new performance plan results.

“Our hearings on this issue have revealed a culture of apathy in one of our state’s critical agencies,” Miloscia said. “The issue is far deeper than just one or two problem employees – it’s an institutional lack of accountability. The best solution to a management problem is to bring in management experts, and that’s what this bill does.”

A legal investigation into the scandal is ongoing.

The bill now proceeds to consideration in the state House of Representatives.