RCW 71.24.546
Substance use recovery services plan
—
Substance use recovery services advisory committee
—
Rules
—
Report.
(Expires December 31, 2026.)
(1) The authority, in collaboration with the substance use recovery services advisory committee established in subsection (2) of this section, shall establish a substance use recovery services plan. The purpose of the plan is to implement measures to assist persons with substance use disorder in accessing outreach, treatment, and recovery support services that are low barrier, person centered, informed by people with lived experience, and culturally and linguistically appropriate. The plan must articulate the manner in which continual, rapid, and widespread access to a comprehensive continuum of care will be provided to all persons with substance use disorder.
(2)(a) The authority shall establish the substance use recovery services advisory committee to collaborate with the authority in the development and implementation of the substance use recovery services plan under this section. The authority must appoint members to the advisory committee who have relevant background related to the needs of persons with substance use disorder. The advisory committee shall be reflective of the community of individuals living with substance use disorder, including persons who are black, indigenous, and persons of color, persons with co-occurring substance use disorders and mental health conditions, as well as persons who represent the unique needs of rural communities. The advisory committee shall be convened and chaired by the director of the authority, or the director's designee. In addition to the member from the authority, the advisory committee shall include:
(i) One member and one alternate from each of the two largest caucuses of the house of representatives, as appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives;
(ii) One member and one alternate from each of the two largest caucuses of the senate, as appointed by the president of the senate;
(iii) One representative of the governor's office;
(iv) At least one adult in recovery from substance use disorder who has experienced criminal legal consequences as a result of substance use;
(v) At least one youth in recovery from substance use disorder who has experienced criminal legal consequences as a result of substance use;
(vi) One expert from the addictions, drug, and alcohol institute at the University of Washington;
(vii) One outreach services provider;
(viii) One substance use disorder treatment provider;
(ix) One peer recovery services provider;
(x) One recovery housing provider;
(xi) One expert in serving persons with co-occurring substance use disorders and mental health conditions;
(xii) One expert in antiracism and equity in health care delivery systems;
(xiii) One employee who provides substance use disorder treatment or services as a member of a labor union representing workers in the behavioral health field;
(xiv) One representative of the association of Washington health plans;
(xv) One expert in diversion from the criminal legal system to community-based care for persons with substance use disorder;
(xvi) One representative of public defenders;
(xvii) One representative of prosecutors;
(xviii) One representative of sheriffs and police chiefs;
(xix) One representative of a federally recognized tribe; and
(xx) One representative of local governments.
(b) The advisory committee may create subcommittees with expanded participation.
(c) In its collaboration with the advisory committee to develop the substance use recovery services plan, the authority must give due consideration to the recommendations of the advisory committee. If the authority determines that any of the advisory committee's recommendations are not feasible to adopt and implement, the authority must notify the advisory committee and offer an explanation.
(d) The advisory committee must convene as necessary for the development of the substance use recovery services plan and to provide consultation and advice related to the development and adoption of rules to implement the plan. The advisory committee must convene to monitor implementation of the plan and advise the authority.
(3) The plan must consider:
(a) The points of intersection that persons with substance use disorder have with the health care, behavioral health, criminal, civil legal, and child welfare systems as well as the various locations in which persons with untreated substance use disorder congregate, including homeless encampments, motels, and casinos;
(b) New community-based care access points, including crisis stabilization services and the safe station model in partnership with fire departments;
(c) Current regional capacity for substance use disorder assessments, including capacity for persons with co-occurring substance use disorders and mental health conditions, each of the American society of addiction medicine levels of care, and recovery support services;
(d) Barriers to accessing the existing behavioral health system and recovery support services for persons with untreated substance use disorder, especially indigent youth and adult populations, persons with co-occurring substance use disorders and mental health conditions, and populations chronically exposed to criminal legal system responses, and possible innovations that could improve the quality and accessibility of care for those populations;
(e) Evidence-based, research-based, and promising treatment and recovery services appropriate for target populations, including persons with co-occurring substance use disorders and mental health conditions;
(f) Options for leveraging existing integrated managed care, medicaid waiver, American Indian or Alaska Native fee-for-service behavioral health benefits, and private insurance service capacity for substance use disorders, including but not limited to coordination with managed care organizations, behavioral health administrative services organizations, the Washington health benefit exchange, accountable communities of health, and the office of the insurance commissioner;
(g) Framework and design assistance for jurisdictions to assist in compliance with the requirements of RCW 10.31.110
for diversion of individuals with complex or co-occurring behavioral health conditions to community-based care whenever possible and appropriate, and identifying resource gaps that impede jurisdictions in fully realizing the potential impact of this approach;
(h) The design of recovery navigator programs in RCW 71.24.115, including reporting requirements by behavioral health administrative services organizations to monitor the effectiveness of the programs and recommendations for program improvement;
(i) The proposal of a funding framework in which, over time, resources are shifted from punishment sectors to community-based care interventions such that community-based care becomes the primary strategy for addressing and resolving public order issues related to behavioral health conditions;
(j) Strategic grant making to community organizations to promote public understanding and eradicate stigma and prejudice against persons with substance use disorder by promoting hope, empathy, and recovery;
(k) Recommendations for diversion to community-based care for individuals with substance use disorders, including persons with co-occurring substance use disorders and mental health conditions, across all points of the sequential intercept model;
(l) Recommendations regarding the appropriate criminal legal system response, if any, to possession of controlled substances;
(m) Recommendations regarding the collection and reporting of data that identifies the number of persons law enforcement officers and prosecutors engage related to drug possession and disparities across geographic areas, race, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, and income. The recommendations shall include, but not be limited to, the number and rate of persons who are diverted from charges to recovery navigator services or other services, who receive services and what type of services, who are charged with simple possession, and who are taken into custody; and
(n) The design of a mechanism for referring persons with substance use disorder or problematic behaviors resulting from substance use into the supportive services described in RCW 71.24.115
.
(4) The plan and related rules adopted by the authority must give due consideration to persons with co-occurring substance use disorders and mental health conditions and the needs of youth. The plan must include the substance use outreach, treatment, and recovery services outlined in RCW 71.24.115
through
71.24.135
which must be available in or accessible by all jurisdictions. These services must be equitably distributed across urban and rural settings. If feasible and appropriate, service initiation shall be made available on demand through 24-hour, seven days a week peer recovery coach response, behavioral health walk-in centers, or other innovative rapid response models. These services must, at a minimum, incorporate the following principles: Establish low barriers to entry and reentry; improve the health and safety of the individual; reduce the harm of substance use and related activity for the public; include integrated and coordinated services; incorporate structural competency and antiracism; use noncoercive methods of engaging and retaining people in treatment and recovery services, including contingency management; consider the unique needs of rural communities; and have a focus on services that increase social determinants of health.
(5) In developing the plan, the authority shall:
(a) Align the components of the plan with previous and ongoing studies, plans, and reports, including the Washington state opioid overdose and response plan, published by the authority, the roadmap to recovery planning grant strategy being developed by the authority, and plans associated with federal block grants; and
(b) Coordinate its work with the efforts of the blue ribbon commission on the intersection of the criminal justice and behavioral health crisis systems and the crisis response improvement strategy committee established in chapter 302, Laws of 2021.
(6) The authority must submit a preliminary report by December 1, 2021, regarding progress toward the substance use recovery services plan. The authority must submit the final substance use recovery services plan to the governor and the legislature by December 1, 2022. After submitting the plan, the authority shall adopt rules and enter into contracts with providers to implement the plan by December 1, 2023. In addition to seeking public comment under chapter
34.05
RCW, the authority must adopt rules in accordance with the recommendations of the substance use recovery services advisory committee as provided in subsection (2) of this section.
(7) In consultation with the substance use recovery services advisory committee, the authority must submit a report on the implementation of the substance use recovery services plan to the appropriate committees of the legislature and governor by December 1st of each year, beginning in 2023. This report shall include progress on the substance use disorder continuum of care, including availability of outreach, treatment, and recovery support services statewide.
(8) For the purposes of this section, "recovery support services" means a collection of resources that sustain long-term recovery from substance use disorder, including for persons with co-occurring substance use disorders and mental health conditions, recovery housing, permanent supportive housing, employment and education pathways, peer supports and recovery coaching, family education, technological recovery supports, transportation and child care assistance, and social connectedness.
(9) This section expires December 31, 2026.
[
2021 c 311 s 1
.]
NOTES:
Effective date
—
2021 c 311 ss 1-11 and 13-21:
See note following RCW 71.24.115
.
RCW 71.24.550
City, town, or county without facility
—
Contribution of liquor taxes prerequisite to use of another's facility.
A city, town, or county that does not have its own facility or program for the treatment and rehabilitation of persons with substance use disorders may share in the use of a facility or program maintained by another city or county so long as it contributes no less than two percent of its share of liquor taxes and profits to the support of the facility or program.
[
2014 c 225 s 26
;
1989 c 270 s 12
. Formerly RCW 70.96A.085
.]
NOTES:
Effective date
—
2014 c 225:
See note following RCW 71.24.016
.
RCW 71.24.555
Liquor taxes and profits
—
City and county eligibility conditioned.
To be eligible to receive its share of liquor taxes and profits, each city and county shall devote no less than two percent of its share of liquor taxes and profits to the support of a substance use disorder program licensed or certified by the department of health.
[
2019 c 325 s 1038
;
2018 c 201 s 4042
;
2016 sp.s. c 29 s 517
;
1989 c 270 s 13
. Formerly RCW 70.96A.087
.]
NOTES:
Effective date
—
2019 c 325:
See note following RCW 71.24.011
.
Findings
—
Intent
—
Effective date
—
2018 c 201:
See notes following RCW 41.05.018
.
Effective dates
—
2016 sp.s. c 29:
See note following RCW 71.05.760
.
Short title
—
Right of action
—
2016 sp.s. c 29:
See notes following RCW 71.05.010
.
RCW 71.24.560
Opioid treatment programs
—
Pregnant individuals
—
Information and education.
(1) All approved opioid treatment programs that provide services to individuals who are pregnant are required to disseminate up-to-date and accurate health education information to all their pregnant individuals concerning the effects opioid use and opioid use disorder medication may have on their baby, including the development of dependence and subsequent withdrawal. All pregnant individuals must also be advised of the risks to both themselves and their babies associated with discontinuing an opioid treatment program. The information must be provided to these individuals both verbally and in writing. The health education information provided to the pregnant individuals must include referral options for a baby who has been exposed to opioids in utero.
(2) The department shall adopt rules that require all opioid treatment programs to educate all pregnant individuals in their program on the benefits and risks of medication-assisted treatment to a developing fetus before they are prescribed these medications, as part of their treatment. The department shall also adopt rules requiring all opioid treatment programs to educate individuals who become pregnant about the risks to both the expecting parent and the fetus of not treating opioid use disorder. The department shall meet the requirements under this subsection within the appropriations provided for opioid treatment programs. The department, working with treatment providers and medical experts, shall develop and disseminate the educational materials to all certified opioid treatment programs.
(3) For pregnant individuals who participate in medicaid, the authority, through its managed care organizations, must ensure that pregnant individuals receive outreach related to opioid use disorder when identified as a person at risk.
[
2019 c 314 s 26
;
2017 c 297 s 11
;
2016 sp.s. c 29 s 506
;
2005 c 70 s 2
;
1995 c 312 s 46
;
1990 c 151 s 5
. Prior:
1989 c 270 s 19
;
1989 c 175 s 131
;
1972 ex.s. c 122 s 9
. Formerly RCW 70.96A.090
.]
NOTES:
Declaration
—
2019 c 314:
See note following RCW 18.22.810
.
Findings
—
Intent
—
2017 c 297:
See note following RCW 18.22.800
.
Effective dates
—
2016 sp.s. c 29:
See note following RCW 71.05.760
.
Short title
—
Right of action
—
2016 sp.s. c 29:
See notes following RCW 71.05.010
.
Findings
—
Intent
—
2019 c 314; 2005 c 70:
"The legislature finds that drug use among pregnant individuals is a significant and growing concern statewide. Evidence-informed group prenatal care reduces preterm birth for infants, and increases maternal social cohesion and support during pregnancy and postpartum, which is good for maternal mental health.
It is the intent of the legislature to notify all pregnant individuals who are receiving medication for the treatment of opioid use disorder of the risks and benefits such medication could have on their baby during pregnancy through birth and to inform them of the potential need for the newborn baby to be treated in a hospital setting or in a specialized supportive environment designed specifically to address and manage neonatal opioid or other drug withdrawal syndromes." [
2019 c 314 s 2
;
2005 c 70 s 1
.]
Short title
—
1995 c 312:
See note following RCW 13.32A.010
.
Effective date
—
1989 c 175:
See note following RCW 34.05.010
.
RCW 71.24.565
Acceptance for approved treatment
—
Rules.
The director shall adopt and may amend and repeal rules for acceptance of persons into the approved treatment program, considering available treatment resources and facilities, for the purpose of early and effective treatment of persons with substance use disorders, persons incapacitated by alcohol or other psychoactive chemicals, and intoxicated persons. In establishing the rules, the director shall be guided by the following standards:
(1) If possible a patient shall be treated on a voluntary rather than an involuntary basis.
(2) A patient shall be initially assigned or transferred to outpatient treatment, unless he or she is found to require residential treatment.
(3) A person shall not be denied treatment solely because he or she has withdrawn from treatment against medical advice on a prior occasion or because he or she has relapsed after earlier treatment.
(4) An individualized treatment plan shall be prepared and maintained on a current basis for each patient.
(5) Provision shall be made for a continuum of coordinated treatment services, so that a person who leaves a facility or a form of treatment will have available and use other appropriate treatment.
[
2019 c 325 s 1039
;
2018 c 201 s 4043
;
2014 c 225 s 27
;
1989 c 270 s 23
;
1972 ex.s. c 122 s 10
. Formerly RCW 70.96A.100
.]
NOTES:
Effective date
—
2019 c 325:
See note following RCW 71.24.011
.
Findings
—
Intent
—
Effective date
—
2018 c 201:
See notes following RCW 41.05.018
.
Effective date
—
2014 c 225:
See note following RCW 71.24.016
.
RCW 71.24.570
Emergency service patrol
—
Establishment
—
Rules.
(1) The state and counties, cities, and other municipalities may establish or contract for emergency service patrols which are to be under the administration of the appropriate jurisdiction. A patrol consists of persons trained to give assistance in the streets and in other public places to persons who are intoxicated. Members of an emergency service patrol shall be capable of providing first aid in emergency situations and may transport intoxicated persons to their homes and to and from substance use disorder treatment programs.
(2) The secretary shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter
34.05
RCW for the establishment, training, and conduct of emergency service patrols.
[
2016 sp.s. c 29 s 518
;
1989 c 270 s 30
;
1972 ex.s. c 122 s 17
. Formerly RCW 70.96A.170
.]
NOTES:
Effective dates
—
2016 sp.s. c 29:
See note following RCW 71.05.760
.
Short title
—
Right of action
—
2016 sp.s. c 29:
See notes following RCW 71.05.010
.
RCW 71.24.575
Criminal laws limitations.
(1) No county, municipality, or other political subdivision may adopt or enforce a local law, ordinance, resolution, or rule having the force of law that includes drinking, being an individual with a substance use disorder, or being found in an intoxicated condition as one of the elements of the offense giving rise to a criminal or civil penalty or sanction.
(2) No county, municipality, or other political subdivision may interpret or apply any law of general application to circumvent the provision of subsection (1) of this section.
(3) Nothing in this chapter affects any law, ordinance, resolution, or rule against drunken driving, driving under the influence of alcohol or other psychoactive chemicals, or other similar offense involving the operation of a vehicle, aircraft, boat, machinery, or other equipment, or regarding the sale, purchase, dispensing, possessing, or use of alcoholic beverages or other psychoactive chemicals at stated times and places or by a particular class of persons; nor shall evidence of intoxication affect, other than as a defense, the application of any law, ordinance, resolution, or rule to conduct otherwise establishing the elements of an offense.
[
2014 c 225 s 30
;
1989 c 270 s 32
;
1972 ex.s. c 122 s 19
. Formerly RCW 70.96A.190
.]
NOTES:
Effective date
—
2014 c 225:
See note following RCW 71.24.016
.
RCW 71.24.580
Criminal justice treatment account.
(1) The criminal justice treatment account is created in the state treasury. Moneys in the account may be expended solely for: (a) Substance use disorder treatment and treatment support services for offenders with a substance use disorder that, if not treated, would result in addiction, against whom charges are filed by a prosecuting attorney in Washington state; (b) the provision of substance use disorder treatment services and treatment support services for nonviolent offenders within a drug court program and for 180 days following graduation from the drug court program; and (c) the administrative and overhead costs associated with the operation of a drug court. Amounts provided in this subsection must be used for treatment and recovery support services for criminally involved offenders and authorization of these services shall not be subject to determinations of medical necessity. Moneys in the account may be spent only after appropriation.
(2) For purposes of this section:
(a) "Treatment" means services that are critical to a participant's successful completion of his or her substance use disorder treatment program, including but not limited to the recovery support and other programmatic elements outlined in RCW 2.30.030
authorizing therapeutic courts; and
(b) "Treatment support" includes transportation to or from inpatient or outpatient treatment services when no viable alternative exists, and child care services that are necessary to ensure a participant's ability to attend outpatient treatment sessions.
(3) Revenues to the criminal justice treatment account consist of: (a) Funds transferred to the account pursuant to this section; and (b) any other revenues appropriated to or deposited in the account.
(4)(a) For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2005, and each subsequent fiscal year, the state treasurer shall transfer eight million two hundred fifty thousand dollars from the general fund to the criminal justice treatment account, divided into four equal quarterly payments. For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2006, and each subsequent fiscal year, the amount transferred shall be increased on an annual basis by the implicit price deflator as published by the federal bureau of labor statistics.
(b) In each odd-numbered year, the legislature shall appropriate the amount transferred to the criminal justice treatment account in (a) of this subsection to the department for the purposes of subsection (5) of this section.
(5) Moneys appropriated to the authority from the criminal justice treatment account shall be distributed as specified in this subsection. The authority may retain up to three percent of the amount appropriated under subsection (4)(b) of this section for its administrative costs.
(a) Seventy percent of amounts appropriated to the authority from the account shall be distributed to counties pursuant to the distribution formula adopted under this section. The authority, in consultation with the department of corrections, the Washington state association of counties, the Washington state association of drug court professionals, the superior court judges' association, the Washington association of prosecuting attorneys, representatives of the criminal defense bar, representatives of substance use disorder treatment providers, and any other person deemed by the authority to be necessary, shall establish a fair and reasonable methodology for distribution to counties of moneys in the criminal justice treatment account. County or regional plans submitted for the expenditure of formula funds must be approved by the panel established in (b) of this subsection.
(b) Thirty percent of the amounts appropriated to the authority from the account shall be distributed as grants for purposes of treating offenders against whom charges are filed by a county prosecuting attorney. The authority shall appoint a panel of representatives from the Washington association of prosecuting attorneys, the Washington association of sheriffs and police chiefs, the superior court judges' association, the Washington state association of counties, the Washington defender's association or the Washington association of criminal defense lawyers, the department of corrections, the Washington state association of drug court professionals, and substance use disorder treatment providers. The panel shall review county or regional plans for funding under (a) of this subsection and grants approved under this subsection. The panel shall attempt to ensure that treatment as funded by the grants is available to offenders statewide.
(6) The county alcohol and drug coordinator, county prosecutor, county sheriff, county superior court, a substance abuse treatment provider appointed by the county legislative authority, a member of the criminal defense bar appointed by the county legislative authority, and, in counties with a drug court, a representative of the drug court shall jointly submit a plan, approved by the county legislative authority or authorities, to the panel established in subsection (5)(b) of this section, for disposition of all the funds provided from the criminal justice treatment account within that county. The submitted plan should incorporate current evidence-based practices in substance use disorder treatment. The funds shall be used solely to provide approved alcohol and substance use disorder treatment pursuant to RCW 71.24.560
and treatment support services. No more than ten percent of the total moneys received under subsections (4) and (5) of this section by a county or group of counties participating in a regional agreement shall be spent for treatment support services.
(7) Counties are encouraged to consider regional agreements and submit regional plans for the efficient delivery of treatment under this section.
(8) Moneys allocated under this section shall be used to supplement, not supplant, other federal, state, and local funds used for substance abuse treatment.
(9) If a region or county uses criminal justice treatment account funds to support a therapeutic court, the therapeutic court must allow the use of all medications approved by the federal food and drug administration for the treatment of opioid use disorder as deemed medically appropriate for a participant by a medical professional. If appropriate medication-assisted treatment resources are not available or accessible within the jurisdiction, the health care authority's designee for assistance must assist the court with acquiring the resource.
(10) Counties must meet the criteria established in RCW 2.30.030
(3).
(11) The authority shall annually review and monitor the expenditures made by any county or group of counties that receives appropriated funds distributed under this section. Counties shall repay any funds that are not spent in accordance with the requirements of its contract with the authority.
(12) During the 2025-2027 fiscal biennium, the legislature may appropriate moneys from the criminal justice treatment account to provide access to medications for opioid use disorders and alcohol use disorders to individuals in city, county, regional, and tribal jails, and for short-term housing vouchers for individuals with substance use disorders that may also interact with the criminal justice system. Appropriations made under this subsection are not subject to the distribution methodology or other requirements and limitations outlined in subsection (1) through subsection (11) of this section. It is the intent of the legislature to continue this policy in subsequent fiscal biennia.
[
2025 c 424 s 979
;
2024 c 179 s 1
;
2023 c 475 s 941
. Prior:
2022 c 297 s 964
;
2022 c 157 s 18
;
2021 c 334 s 989
;
2020 c 357 s 917
; prior:
2019 c 415 s 980
;
2019 c 325 s 1040
;
2019 c 314 s 27
; prior:
2018 c 205 s 2
;
2018 c 201 s 4044
;
2017 3rd sp.s. c 1 s 981
;
2016 sp.s. c 29 s 511
; prior:
2015 3rd sp.s. c 4 s 968
;
2015 c 291 s 10
;
2013 2nd sp.s. c 4 s 990
;
2011 2nd sp.s. c 9 s 910
;
2011 1st sp.s. c 40 s 34
; prior:
2009 c 479 s 50
;
2009 c 445 s 1
;
2008 c 329 s 918
;
2003 c 379 s 11
;
2002 c 290 s 4
. Formerly RCW 70.96A.350
.]
NOTES:
Effective date
—
2025 c 424:
See note following RCW 9.46.100
.
Effective date
—
2023 c 475:
See note following RCW 16.76.030
.
Effective date
—
2022 c 297:
See note following RCW 43.79.565
.
Conflict with federal requirements
—
Effective date
—
2021 c 334:
See notes following RCW 43.79.555
.
Effective date
—
2020 c 357:
See note following RCW 43.79.545
.
Effective date
—
2019 c 415:
See note following RCW 28B.20.476
.
Effective date
—
2019 c 325:
See note following RCW 71.24.011
.
Declaration
—
2019 c 314:
See note following RCW 18.22.810
.
Finding
—
Intent
—
2018 c 205:
"Drug courts remove a defendant's or respondent's case from the criminal and civil court traditional trial track and allow those defendants or respondents the opportunity to obtain treatment services to address particular issues that may have contributed to the conduct that led to their arrest or other issues before the court. Such courts, by focusing on specific individuals' needs, provide treatment for the issues presented and ensure rapid and appropriate accountability for program violations, which decreases recidivism, improves the safety of the community, and improves the life of the program participant and the lives of the participant's family members by decreasing the severity and frequency of the specific behavior addressed by the therapeutic court. Therefore, the legislature finds compelling the research conducted by the Washington state institute for public policy and the research and data analysis division of the department of social and health services showing that providing recovery support services to clients in drug courts creates a benefit to the state of approximately seven dollars and sixty cents in reduced public expenditures and reduced costs of victimization for each dollar spent. Therefore, it is the intent of the legislature to allow the use of a portion of the criminal justice treatment account to provide such services to foster increased success in drug courts." [
2018 c 205 s 1
.]
Findings
—
Intent
—
Effective date
—
2018 c 201:
See notes following RCW 41.05.018
.
Effective date
—
2017 3rd sp.s. c 1:
See note following RCW 43.41.455
.
Effective dates
—
2016 sp.s. c 29:
See note following RCW 71.05.760
.
Short title
—
Right of action
—
2016 sp.s. c 29:
See notes following RCW 71.05.010
.
Effective dates
—
2015 3rd sp.s. c 4:
See note following RCW 28B.15.069
.
Conflict with federal requirements
—
2015 c 291:
See note following RCW 2.30.010
.
Effective dates
—
2013 2nd sp.s. c 4:
See note following RCW 2.68.020
.
Effective dates
—
2011 2nd sp.s. c 9:
See note following RCW 28B.50.837
.
Application
—
Recalculation of community custody terms
—
2011 1st sp.s. c 40:
See note following RCW 9.94A.501
.
Effective date
—
2009 c 479:
See note following RCW 2.56.030
.
Severability
—
Effective date
—
2008 c 329:
See notes following RCW 28B.105.110
.
Severability
—
Effective dates
—
2003 c 379:
See notes following RCW 9.94A.728
.
Effective date
—
2002 c 290 ss 1, 4-6, 12, 13, 26, and 27:
"Sections 1, 4 through 6, 12, 13, 26, and 27 of this act are necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and take effect immediately [April 1, 2002]." [
2002 c 290 s 32
.]
Intent
—
2002 c 290:
See note following RCW 9.94A.517
.
RCW 71.24.585
Opioid and substance use disorder treatment
—
State response.
(1)(a) The state of Washington declares that substance use disorders are medical conditions. Substance use disorders should be treated in a manner similar to other medical conditions by using interventions that are supported by evidence, including medications approved by the federal food and drug administration for the treatment of opioid use disorder. It is also recognized that many individuals have multiple substance use disorders, as well as histories of trauma, developmental disabilities, or mental health conditions. As such, all individuals experiencing opioid use disorder should be offered evidence-supported treatments to include federal food and drug administration approved medications for the treatment of opioid use disorders and behavioral counseling and social supports to address them. For behavioral health agencies, an effective plan of treatment for most persons with opioid use disorder integrates access to medications and psychosocial counseling and should be consistent with the American society of addiction medicine patient placement criteria. Providers must inform patients with opioid use disorder or substance use disorder of options to access federal food and drug administration approved medications for the treatment of opioid use disorder or substance use disorder. Because some such medications are controlled substances in chapter
69.50
RCW, the state of Washington maintains the legal obligation and right to regulate the uses of these medications in the treatment of opioid use disorder.
(b) The authority must work with other state agencies and stakeholders to develop value-based payment strategies to better support the ongoing care of persons with opioid and other substance use disorders.
(c) The department of corrections shall develop policies to prioritize services based on available grant funding and funds appropriated specifically for opioid use disorder treatment.
(2) The authority must promote the use of medication therapies and other evidence-based strategies to address the opioid epidemic in Washington state. Additionally, by January 1, 2020, the authority must prioritize state resources for the provision of treatment and recovery support services to inpatient and outpatient treatment settings that allow patients to start or maintain their use of medications for opioid use disorder while engaging in services.
(3) The state declares that the main goals of treatment for persons with opioid use disorder are the cessation of unprescribed opioid use, reduced morbidity, and restoration of the ability to lead a productive and fulfilling life.
(4) To achieve the goals in subsection (3) of this section, to promote public health and safety, and to promote the efficient and economic use of funding for the medicaid program under Title XIX of the social security act, the authority may seek, receive, and expend alternative sources of funding to support all aspects of the state's response to the opioid crisis.
(5) The authority must partner with the department of social and health services, the department of corrections, the department of health, the department of children, youth, and families, and any other agencies or entities the authority deems appropriate to develop a statewide approach to leveraging medicaid funding to treat opioid use disorder and provide emergency overdose treatment. Such alternative sources of funding may include:
(a) Seeking a section 1115 demonstration waiver from the federal centers for medicare and medicaid services to fund opioid treatment medications for persons eligible for medicaid at or during the time of incarceration and juvenile detention facilities; and
(b) Soliciting and receiving private funds, grants, and donations from any willing person or entity.
(6)(a) The authority shall work with the department of health to promote coordination between medication-assisted treatment prescribers, federally accredited opioid treatment programs, substance use disorder treatment facilities, and state-certified substance use disorder treatment agencies to:
(i) Increase patient choice in receiving medication and counseling;
(ii) Strengthen relationships between opioid use disorder providers;
(iii) Acknowledge and address the challenges presented for individuals needing treatment for multiple substance use disorders simultaneously; and
(iv) Study and review effective methods to identify and reach out to individuals with opioid use disorder who are at high risk of overdose and not involved in traditional systems of care, such as homeless individuals using syringe service programs, and connect such individuals to appropriate treatment.
(b) The authority must work with stakeholders to develop a set of recommendations to the governor and the legislature that:
(i) Propose, in addition to those required by federal law, a standard set of services needed to support the complex treatment needs of persons with opioid use disorder treated in opioid treatment programs;
(ii) Outline the components of and strategies needed to develop opioid treatment program centers of excellence that provide fully integrated care for persons with opioid use disorder;
(iii) Estimate the costs needed to support these models and recommendations for funding strategies that must be included in the report;
(iv) Outline strategies to increase the number of waivered health care providers approved for prescribing buprenorphine by the substance abuse and mental health services administration; and
(v) Outline strategies to lower the cost of federal food and drug administration approved products for the treatment of opioid use disorder.
(7) State agencies shall review and promote positive outcomes associated with the accountable communities of health funded opioid projects and local law enforcement and human services opioid collaborations as set forth in the Washington state interagency opioid working plan.
(8) The authority must partner with the department and other state agencies to replicate effective approaches for linking individuals who have had a nonfatal overdose with treatment opportunities, with a goal to connect certified peer counselors or certified peer support specialists with individuals who have had a nonfatal overdose.
(9) State agencies must work together to increase outreach and education about opioid overdoses to non-English-speaking communities by developing a plan to conduct outreach and education to non-English-speaking communities. The department must submit a report on the outreach and education plan with recommendations for implementation to the appropriate legislative committees by July 1, 2020.
[
2025 c 360 s 18
;
2019 c 314 s 28
;
2017 c 297 s 12
;
2016 sp.s. c 29 s 519
;
2001 c 242 s 1
;
1995 c 321 s 1
;
1989 c 270 s 20
. Formerly RCW 70.96A.400
.]
NOTES:
Declaration
—
2019 c 314:
See note following RCW 18.22.810
.
Findings
—
Intent
—
2017 c 297:
See note following RCW 18.22.800
.
Effective dates
—
2016 sp.s. c 29:
See note following RCW 71.05.760
.
Short title
—
Right of action
—
2016 sp.s. c 29:
See notes following RCW 71.05.010
.
RCW 71.24.587
Opioid use disorder treatment
—
Possession or use of lawfully prescribed medication
—
Declaration by state.
The state declares that a person lawfully possessing or using lawfully prescribed medication for the treatment of opioid use disorder must be treated the same in judicial and administrative proceedings as a person lawfully possessing or using other lawfully prescribed medications.
[
2017 c 297 s 13
.]
NOTES:
Findings
—
Intent
—
2017 c 297:
See note following RCW 18.22.800
.
RCW 71.24.589
Law enforcement assisted diversion
—
Grant program.
(1) Subject to funds appropriated by the legislature, the authority shall administer a grant program for law enforcement assisted diversion which shall adhere to law enforcement assisted diversion core principles recognized by the law enforcement assisted diversion national support bureau, the efficacy of which have been demonstrated in peer-reviewed research studies.
(2) The authority must partner with the law enforcement assisted diversion national support bureau to award contracts, subject to appropriation, for jurisdictions in the state of Washington for law enforcement assisted diversion. Cities, counties, and tribes, subdivisions thereof, public development authorities, and community-based organizations demonstrating support from necessary public partners, may serve as the lead agency applying for funding. Funds may be used to scale existing projects, and to invite additional jurisdictions to launch law enforcement assisted diversion programs.
(3) The program must provide for securing comprehensive technical assistance from law enforcement assisted diversion implementation experts to develop and implement a law enforcement assisted diversion program in a way that ensures fidelity to the research-based law enforcement assisted diversion model. Sufficient funds must be allocated from grant program funds to secure technical assistance for the authority and for the implementing jurisdictions.
(4) The key elements of a law enforcement assisted diversion program must include:
(a) Long-term case management for individuals with substance use disorders;
(b) Facilitation and coordination with community resources focusing on overdose prevention;
(c) Facilitation and coordination with community resources focused on the prevention of infectious disease transmission;
(d) Facilitation and coordination with community resources providing physical and behavioral health services;
(e) Facilitation and coordination with community resources providing medications for the treatment of substance use disorders;
(f) Facilitation and coordination with community resources focusing on housing, employment, and public assistance;
(g) 24 hours per day and seven days per week response to law enforcement for arrest diversions; and
(h) Prosecutorial support for diversion services.
(5) No civil liability may be imposed by any court on the state or its officers or employees, an appointed or elected official, public employee, public agency as defined in RCW 4.24.470, combination of units of government and its employees as provided in RCW 36.28A.010, nonprofit community-based organization, tribal government entity, tribal organization, or urban Indian organization, based on the administration of a law enforcement assisted diversion program or activities carried out within the purview of a grant received under this program except upon proof of bad faith or gross negligence.
[
2023 sp.s. c 1 s 13
;
2019 c 314 s 29
.]
NOTES:
Declaration
—
2019 c 314:
See note following RCW 18.22.810
.
RCW 71.24.590
Opioid treatment
—
Program licensing or certification by department, department duties
—
Use of medications by program
—
Definition.
(1) When making a decision on an application for licensing or certification of an opioid treatment program, the department shall:
(a) Consult with the county legislative authorities in the area in which an applicant proposes to locate a program and the city legislative authority in any city in which an applicant proposes to locate a program;
(b) License or certify only programs that will be sited in accordance with the appropriate county or city land use ordinances. Counties and cities may require conditional use permits with reasonable conditions for the siting of programs only to the extent that such reasonable conditional use requirements applied to opioid treatment programs are similarly applied to other essential public facilities and health care settings. Pursuant to RCW 36.70A.200, no local comprehensive plan or development regulation may preclude the siting of essential public facilities;
(c) Not discriminate in its licensing or certification decision on the basis of the corporate structure of the applicant;
(d) Consider the size of the population in need of treatment in the area in which the program would be located and license or certify only applicants whose programs meet the necessary treatment needs of that population;
(e) Consider the availability of other certified opioid treatment programs near the area in which the applicant proposes to locate the program;
(f) Consider the transportation systems that would provide service to the program and whether the systems will provide reasonable opportunities to access the program for persons in need of treatment;
(g) Consider whether the applicant has, or has demonstrated in the past, the capability to provide the appropriate services to assist the persons who utilize the program in meeting goals established by the legislature in RCW 71.24.585
. The department shall prioritize licensing or certification to applicants who have demonstrated such capability and are able to measure their success in meeting such outcomes;
(h) Provide public notice to all appropriate media outlets in the community in which the facility is proposed to be located that states the applicant is proposing a facility in that community.
(2) No city or county legislative authority may impose a maximum capacity for an opioid treatment program.
(3) A program applying for licensing or certification from the department and a program applying for a contract from a state agency that has been denied the licensing or certification or contract shall be provided with a written notice specifying the rationale and reasons for the denial.
(4) Opioid treatment programs may order, possess, dispense, and administer medications approved by the United States food and drug administration for the treatment of opioid use disorder, alcohol use disorder, tobacco use disorder, and reversal of opioid overdose. For an opioid treatment program to order, possess, and dispense any other legend drug, including controlled substances, the opioid treatment program must obtain additional licensure as required by the department, except for patient-owned medications.
(5) Opioid treatment programs may accept, possess, and administer patient-owned medications.
(6) Registered nurses and licensed practical nurses may dispense up to a 31 day supply of medications approved by the United States food and drug administration for the treatment of opioid use disorder to patients of the opioid treatment program, under an order or prescription and in compliance with 42 C.F.R. Sec. 8.12.
(7) A mobile or fixed-site medication unit may be established as part of a licensed opioid treatment program.
(8) For the purpose of this chapter, "opioid treatment program" means a program that:
(a) Engages in the treatment of opioid use disorder with medications approved by the United States food and drug administration for the treatment of opioid use disorder and reversal of opioid overdose, including methadone; and
(b) Provides a comprehensive range of medical and rehabilitative services.
[
2023 sp.s. c 1 s 14
;
2019 c 314 s 30
;
2018 c 201 s 4045
;
2017 c 297 s 14
;
2001 c 242 s 2
;
1995 c 321 s 2
;
1989 c 270 s 21
. Formerly RCW 70.96A.410
.]
NOTES:
Declaration
—
2019 c 314:
See note following RCW 18.22.810
.
Findings
—
Intent
—
Effective date
—
2018 c 201:
See notes following RCW 41.05.018
.
Contingent effective date
—
2017 c 297 ss 14 and 16:
"Sections 14 and 16 of this act take effect only if neither Substitute House Bill No. 1388 (including any later amendments or substitutes) nor Substitute Senate Bill No. 5259 (including any later amendments or substitutes) is signed into law by the governor by July 23, 2017." [
2017 c 297 s 18
.] Neither Substitute House Bill No. 1388 nor Substitute Senate Bill No. 5259 was signed into law by July 23, 2017.
Findings
—
Intent
—
2017 c 297:
See note following RCW 18.22.800
.
RCW 71.24.593
Opioid use disorder treatment
—
Care of individuals and their newborns
—
Authority recommendations required.
(1) Recognizing that treatment strategies and modalities for the treatment of individuals with opioid use disorder and their newborns continue to evolve, and that improved health outcomes are seen when birth parents and their infants are allowed to room together, the authority must provide recommendations to the office of financial management by October 1, 2019, to better support the care of individuals who have recently delivered and their newborns.
(2) These recommendations must support:
(a) Successful transition from the early postpartum and newborn period for the birth parent and infant to the next level of care;
(b) Reducing the risk of parental infant separation; and
(c) Increasing the chance of uninterrupted recovery of the parent and foster the development of positive parenting practices.
(3) The authority's recommendations must include:
(a) How these interventions could be supported in hospitals, birthing centers, or other appropriate sites of care and descriptions as to current barriers in providing these interventions;
(b) Estimates of the costs needed to support this enhanced set of services; and
(c) Mechanisms for funding the services.
[
2019 c 314 s 25
.]
NOTES:
Declaration
—
2019 c 314:
See note following RCW 18.22.810
.
RCW 71.24.594
Opioid overdose reversal medications
—
Education
—
Distribution
—
Labeling
—
Liability.
(1) For any client presenting with symptoms of an opioid use disorder, or who reports recent use of opioids outside legal authority, all licensed or certified behavioral health agencies that provide individuals treatment for mental health or substance use disorder, withdrawal management, secure withdrawal management, evaluation and treatment, or opioid treatment programs must during the client's intake, discharge, or treatment plan review, as appropriate:
(a) Inform the client about opioid overdose reversal medication and ask whether the client has opioid overdose reversal medication; and
(b) If a client does not possess opioid overdose reversal medication, unless the behavioral health provider determines using clinical and professional judgment that opioid overdose reversal medication is not appropriate, the behavioral health provider must:
(i) Prescribe the client opioid overdose reversal medication or utilize the statewide naloxone standing order; and
(ii) Assist the client in directly obtaining opioid overdose reversal medication as soon as practical by:
(A) Directly dispensing the opioid overdose reversal medication, if authorized by state law;
(B) Partnering with a pharmacy to obtain the opioid overdose reversal medication on the client's behalf and distributing the opioid overdose reversal medication to the client;
(C) Assisting the client in utilizing a mail order pharmacy or pharmacy that mails prescription drugs directly to the behavioral health agency or client and distributing the opioid overdose reversal medication to the client, if necessary;
(D) Obtaining and distributing opioid overdose reversal medication through the bulk purchasing and distribution program established in RCW 70.14.170
; or
(E) Using any other resources or means authorized by state law to provide opioid overdose reversal medication.
(2) Until the opioid overdose reversal medication bulk purchasing and distribution program established in RCW 70.14.170
is operational, if a behavioral health agency listed in subsection (1) of this section dispenses, distributes, or otherwise assists the client in directly obtaining the opioid overdose reversal medication such that the agency is the billing entity, the behavioral health agency must:
(a) For clients enrolled in medical assistance under chapter
74.09
RCW, bill the client's medicaid benefit for the client's opioid overdose reversal medication utilizing the appropriate billing codes established by the health care authority;
(b) For clients with available health insurance coverage other than medical assistance under chapter
74.09
RCW, bill the client's health plan for the cost of the opioid overdose reversal medication;
(c) For clients who are not enrolled in medical assistance under chapter
74.09
RCW and do not have any other available health insurance coverage, bill the health care authority for the cost of the client's opioid overdose reversal medication.
(3) A pharmacy that dispenses opioid overdose reversal medication through a partnership or relationship with a behavioral health agency as described in subsection (1) of this section must bill the health care authority for the cost of the client's opioid overdose reversal medication for clients that are not enrolled in medical assistance under chapter
74.09
RCW and do not have any other available health insurance coverage.
(4) The labeling requirements of RCW 69.41.050
and
18.64.246
do not apply to opioid overdose reversal medication dispensed or delivered in accordance with this section.
(5) A person who is provided opioid overdose reversal medication under this section must be provided information and resources about medication for opioid use disorder and harm reduction strategies and services which may be available, such as substance use disorder treatment services and substance use disorder peer counselors. This information should be available in all languages relevant to the communities that the behavioral health agency serves.
(6) The individual or entity that dispenses, distributes, or delivers an opioid overdose reversal medication in accordance with this section shall ensure that the directions for use are provided.
(7) Actions taken in compliance with subsection (1) of this section by an entity that provides only mental health treatment may not be construed as the entity holding itself out as providing or in fact providing substance use disorder diagnosis, treatment, or referral for treatment for purposes of state or federal law.
(8) A behavioral health agency, its employees, and providers are immune from suit in any action, civil or criminal, or from professional or other disciplinary action, for action or inaction in compliance with this section.
(9) For purposes of this section, "opioid overdose reversal medication" has the meaning provided in RCW 69.41.095
.
[
2021 c 273 s 4
.]
NOTES:
Effective date
—
2021 c 273 ss 2-4:
See note following RCW 70.41.480
.
Findings
—
Intent
—
2021 c 273:
See note following RCW 70.41.480
.
RCW 71.24.595
Statewide treatment and operating standards for opioid treatment programs
—
Evaluation and report.
(1) To achieve more medication options, the authority must work with the department and the authority's medicaid managed care organizations, to eliminate barriers and promote access to effective medications known to address opioid use disorders at state-certified opioid treatment programs. Medications include, but are not limited to: Methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone. The authority must encourage the distribution of naloxone to patients who are at risk of an opioid overdose.
(2) The department, in consultation with opioid treatment program service providers and counties and cities, shall establish statewide treatment standards for licensed or certified opioid treatment programs. The department shall enforce these treatment standards. The treatment standards shall include, but not be limited to, reasonable provisions for all appropriate and necessary medical procedures, counseling requirements, urinalysis, and other suitable tests as needed to ensure compliance with this chapter.
(3) The department, in consultation with opioid treatment programs and counties, shall establish statewide operating standards for certified opioid treatment programs. The department shall enforce these operating standards. The operating standards shall include, but not be limited to, reasonable provisions necessary to enable the department and counties to monitor certified or licensed opioid treatment programs for compliance with this chapter and the treatment standards authorized by this chapter and to minimize the impact of the opioid treatment programs upon the business and residential neighborhoods in which the program is located.
(4) The department shall analyze and evaluate the data submitted by each treatment program and take corrective action where necessary to ensure compliance with the goals and standards enumerated under this chapter. Opioid treatment programs are subject to the oversight required for other substance use disorder treatment programs, as described in this chapter.
[
2019 c 314 s 31
;
2018 c 201 s 4046
;
2017 c 297 s 16
;
2003 c 207 s 6
;
2001 c 242 s 3
;
1998 c 245 s 135
;
1995 c 321 s 3
;
1989 c 270 s 22
. Formerly RCW 70.96A.420
.]
NOTES:
Declaration
—
2019 c 314:
See note following RCW 18.22.810
.
Findings
—
Intent
—
Effective date
—
2018 c 201:
See notes following RCW 41.05.018
.
Contingent effective date
—
2017 c 297 ss 14 and 16:
See note following RCW 71.24.590
.
Findings
—
Intent
—
2017 c 297:
See note following RCW 18.22.800
.
RCW 71.24.597
Opioid overdose reversal medication
—
Coordinated purchasing and distribution.
By October 1, 2019, the authority must work with the department, the accountable communities of health, and community stakeholders to develop a plan for the coordinated purchasing and distribution of opioid overdose reversal medication across the state of Washington. The plan must be developed in consultation with the University of Washington's alcohol and drug abuse institute and community agencies participating in the federal demonstration grant titled Washington state project to prevent prescription drug or opioid overdose.
[
2019 c 314 s 32
.]
NOTES:
Declaration
—
2019 c 314:
See note following RCW 18.22.810
.
RCW 71.24.598
Drug overdose response team.
(1) The department, in coordination with the authority, must develop a strategy to rapidly deploy a response team to a local community identified as having a high number of fentanyl-related or other drug overdoses by the local emergency management system, hospital emergency department, local health jurisdiction, law enforcement agency, or surveillance data. The response team must provide technical assistance and other support to the local health jurisdiction, health care clinics, hospital emergency departments, substance use disorder treatment providers, and other community-based organizations, and are expected to increase the local capacity to provide medication-assisted treatment and overdose education.
(2) The department and the authority must reduce barriers and promote medication treatment therapies for opioid use disorder in emergency departments and same-day referrals to opioid treatment programs, substance use disorder treatment facilities, and community-based medication treatment prescribers for individuals experiencing an overdose.
[
2019 c 314 s 33
.]
NOTES:
Declaration
—
2019 c 314:
See note following RCW 18.22.810
.
RCW 71.24.599
Opioid use disorder
—
City and county jails
—
Funding.
(1) Subject to funds appropriated by the legislature, or approval of a section 1115 demonstration waiver from the federal centers for medicare and medicaid services, to fund opioid treatment medications for persons eligible for medicaid at or during the time of incarceration and juvenile detention facilities, the authority shall establish a methodology for distributing funds to city and county jails to provide medication for the treatment of opioid use disorder to individuals in the custody of the facility in any status. The authority must prioritize funding for the services required in (a) of this subsection. To the extent that funding is provided, city and county jails must:
(a) Provide medication for the treatment of opioid use disorder to individuals in the custody of the facility, in any status, who were receiving medication for the treatment of opioid use disorder through a legally authorized medical program or by a valid prescription immediately before incarceration; and
(b) Provide medication for the treatment of opioid use disorder to incarcerated individuals not less than thirty days before release when treatment is determined to be medically appropriate by a health care practitioner.
(2) City and county jails must make reasonable efforts to directly connect incarcerated individuals receiving medication for the treatment of opioid use disorder to an appropriate provider or treatment site in the geographic region in which the individual will reside before release. If a connection is not possible, the facility must document its efforts in the individual's record.
[
2019 c 314 s 34
.]
NOTES:
Declaration
—
2019 c 314:
See note following RCW 18.22.810
.
RCW 71.24.600
Inability to contribute to cost of services no bar to admission
—
Authority may limit admissions for nonmedicaid clients.
The authority shall not refuse admission for diagnosis, evaluation, guidance[,] or treatment to any applicant because it is determined that the applicant is financially unable to contribute fully or in part to the cost of any services or facilities available under the community behavioral health program.
For nonmedicaid clients, through its contracts with the behavioral health administrative services organizations, the authority may limit admissions of such applicants or modify its programs in order to ensure that expenditures for services or programs do not exceed amounts appropriated by the legislature and are allocated by the authority for such services or programs. For nonmedicaid clients, the authority may establish admission priorities in the event that the number of eligible applicants exceeds the limits set by the authority.
[
2019 c 325 s 1041
;
2018 c 201 s 4047
. Prior:
1989 c 271 s 308
;
1959 c 85 s 15
. Formerly RCW 70.96A.430, 70.96.150
.]
NOTES:
Effective date
—
2019 c 325:
See note following RCW 71.24.011
.
Findings
—
Intent
—
Effective date
—
2018 c 201:
See notes following RCW 41.05.018
.
Severability
—
1989 c 271:
See note following RCW 9.94A.510
.
RCW 71.24.605
Fetal alcohol screening and assessment services.
The authority shall contract with the University of Washington fetal alcohol syndrome clinic to provide fetal alcohol exposure screening and assessment services. The University indirect charges shall not exceed ten percent of the total contract amount. The contract shall require the University of Washington fetal alcohol syndrome clinic to provide the following services:
(1) Training for health care staff in community-based fetal alcohol exposure clinics to ensure the accurate diagnosis of individuals with fetal alcohol exposure and the development and implementation of appropriate service referral plans;
(2) Development of written or visual educational materials for the individuals diagnosed with fetal alcohol exposure and their families or caregivers;
(3) Systematic information retrieval from each community clinic to (a) maintain diagnostic accuracy and reliability across all community clinics, (b) facilitate the development of effective and efficient screening tools for population-based identification of individuals with fetal alcohol exposure, (c) facilitate identification of the most clinically efficacious and cost-effective educational, social, vocational, and health service interventions for individuals with fetal alcohol exposure;
(4) Based on available funds, establishment of a network of community-based fetal alcohol exposure clinics across the state to meet the demand for fetal alcohol exposure diagnostic and referral services; and
(5) Preparation of an annual report for submission to the authority, the department of health, the department of social and health services, the department of corrections, and the office of the superintendent of public instruction which includes the information retrieved under subsection (3) of this section.
[
2018 c 201 s 4048
;
1998 c 245 s 136
;
1995 c 54 s 2
. Formerly RCW 70.96A.500
.]
NOTES:
Findings
—
Intent
—
Effective date
—
2018 c 201:
See notes following RCW 41.05.018
.
Findings
—
Purpose
—
1995 c 54:
"The legislature finds that fetal alcohol exposure is among the leading known causes of mental retardation in the children of our state. The legislature further finds that individuals with undiagnosed fetal alcohol exposure suffer substantially from secondary disabilities such as child abuse and neglect, separation from families, multiple foster placements, depression, aggression, school failure, juvenile detention, and job instability. These secondary disabilities come at a high cost to the individuals, their family, and society. The legislature finds that these problems can be reduced substantially by early diagnosis and receipt of appropriate, effective intervention.
The purpose of this act is to support current public and private efforts directed at the early identification of and intervention into the problems associated with fetal alcohol exposure through the creation of a fetal alcohol exposure clinical network." [
1995 c 54 s 1
.]
RCW 71.24.610
Interagency agreement on prenatal substance exposure programs.
The authority, the department of social and health services, the department, the department of corrections, the department of children, youth, and families, and the office of the superintendent of public instruction shall execute an interagency agreement to ensure the coordination of identification, prevention, and intervention programs for children who have fetal alcohol exposure and other prenatal substance exposures, and for women who are at high risk of having children with fetal alcohol exposure or other prenatal substance exposures.
The interagency agreement shall provide a process for community advocacy groups to participate in the review and development of identification, prevention, and intervention programs administered or contracted for by the agencies executing this agreement.
[
2023 c 288 s 5
;
2018 c 201 s 4049
;
1995 c 54 s 3
. Formerly RCW 70.96A.510
.]
NOTES:
Findings
—
2023 c 288:
See note following RCW 41.05.810
.
Findings
—
Intent
—
Effective date
—
2018 c 201:
See notes following RCW 41.05.018
.
Findings
—
Purpose
—
1995 c 54:
See note following RCW 71.24.605
.
RCW 71.24.612
Prenatal substance exposure
—
Recommendations.
(1) By June 1, 2024, the authority shall submit to the legislature recommendations on ways to increase access to diagnoses, treatment, services, and supports for children who were exposed to alcohol or other substances during pregnancy and their families and caregivers. In creating the recommendations, the authority shall consult with service providers, medical professionals with expertise in diagnosing and treating prenatal substance exposure, families of children who were exposed to alcohol or other substances during pregnancy, communities affected by prenatal substance exposure, and advocates.
(2) The recommendations adopted under subsection (1) of this section shall, at a minimum, address:
(a) Increasing the availability of evaluation and diagnosis services for children and youth for fetal alcohol spectrum disorders and other prenatal substance disorders, including assuring an adequate payment rate for the interdisciplinary team required for diagnosis and developing sufficient capacity in rural and urban areas so that every child is able to access diagnosis services; and
(b) Increasing the availability of treatment for fetal alcohol spectrum disorders and other prenatal substance disorders for all children and youth including all treatments and services recommended by the federal centers for disease control and prevention. The authority shall review all barriers to accessing treatment and make recommendations on removing those barriers, including recommendations related to the definition of medical necessity, prior authorization requirements for diagnosis and treatment services, and limitations of treatment procedure codes and insurance coverage.
[
2023 c 288 s 3
.]
NOTES:
Findings
—
2023 c 288:
See note following RCW 41.05.810
.
RCW 71.24.614
Prenatal substance exposure
—
Contracting.
Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, the authority shall contract with a statewide nonprofit entity with expertise in fetal alcohol spectrum disorders and experience in supporting parents and caregivers to offer free support groups for individuals living with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders and their parents and caregivers.
[
2023 c 288 s 4
.]
NOTES:
Findings
—
2023 c 288:
See note following RCW 41.05.810
.
RCW 71.24.615
Chemical dependency treatment expenditures
—
Prioritization.
The authority shall prioritize expenditures for treatment provided under RCW 13.40.165
. The authority shall provide funds for inpatient and outpatient treatment providers that are the most successful, using the standards developed by the University of Washington under section 27, chapter 338, Laws of 1997. The authority may consider variations between the nature of the programs provided and clients served but must provide funds first for those programs that demonstrate the greatest success in treatment within categories of treatment and the nature of the persons receiving treatment.
[
2018 c 201 s 4050
;
2003 c 207 s 7
;
1997 c 338 s 28
. Formerly RCW 70.96A.520
.]
NOTES:
Findings
—
Intent
—
Effective date
—
2018 c 201:
See notes following RCW 41.05.018
.
Finding
—
Evaluation
—
Report
—
1997 c 338:
See note following RCW 13.40.0357
.
Severability
—
Effective dates
—
1997 c 338:
See notes following RCW 5.60.060
.
RCW 71.24.618
Withdrawal management services
—
Substance use disorder treatment services
—
Prior authorization
—
Utilization review
—
Medical necessity review.
(1) Beginning January 1, 2021, a managed care organization may not require an enrollee to obtain prior authorization for withdrawal management services or inpatient or residential substance use disorder treatment services in a behavioral health agency licensed or certified under RCW 71.24.037
.
(2)(a) Beginning January 1, 2021, a managed care organization must:
(i) Provide coverage for no less than two business days, excluding weekends and holidays, in a behavioral health agency that provides inpatient or residential substance use disorder treatment prior to conducting a utilization review; and
(ii) Provide coverage for no less than three days in a behavioral health agency that provides withdrawal management services prior to conducting a utilization review.
(b)(i) The managed care organization may not require an enrollee to obtain prior authorization for the services specified in (a) of this subsection as a condition for payment of services prior to the times specified in (a) of this subsection.
(ii) Once the times specified in (a) of this subsection have passed, the managed care organization may initiate utilization management review procedures if the behavioral health agency continues to provide services or is in the process of arranging for a seamless transfer to an appropriate facility or lower level of care under subsection (6) of this section. Beginning January 1, 2025, if a managed care organization authorizes inpatient or residential substance use disorder treatment services pursuant to (a)(i) of this subsection following the initial medical necessity review process under (c)(iii) of this subsection, the length of the initial authorization may not be less than 14 days from the date that the patient was admitted to the behavioral health agency. Any subsequent reauthorization that the managed care organization approves after the first 14 days must continue for no less than seven days prior to requiring further reauthorization. Nothing prohibits a managed care organization from requesting information to assist with a seamless transfer under this subsection.
(c)(i) The behavioral health agency under (a) of this subsection must notify an enrollee's managed care organization as soon as practicable after admitting the enrollee, but not later than twenty-four hours after admitting the enrollee. The time of notification does not reduce the requirements established in (a) of this subsection.
(ii) The behavioral health agency under (a) of this subsection must provide the managed care organization with its initial assessment and initial treatment plan for the enrollee within two business days of admission, excluding weekends and holidays, or within three days in the case of a behavioral health agency that provides withdrawal management services.
(iii) After the time period in (a) of this subsection and receipt of the material provided under (c)(ii) of this subsection, the managed care organization may initiate a medical necessity review process. Medical necessity review must be based on the standard set of criteria established under RCW 41.05.528
. In a review for inpatient or residential substance use disorder treatment services, a managed care organization may not make a determination that a patient does not meet medical necessity criteria based primarily on the patient's length of abstinence. If the patient's abstinence from substance use was due to incarceration, hospitalization, or inpatient treatment, a managed care organization may not consider the patient's length of abstinence in determining medical necessity. If the health plan determines within one business day from the start of the medical necessity review period and receipt of the material provided under (c)(ii) of this subsection that the admission to the facility was not medically necessary and advises the agency of the decision in writing, the health plan is not required to pay the facility for services delivered after the start of the medical necessity review period, subject to the conclusion of a filed appeal of the adverse benefit determination. If the managed care organization's medical necessity review is completed more than one business day after the start of the medical necessity review period and receipt of the material provided under (c)(ii) of this subsection, the managed care organization must pay for the services delivered from the time of admission until the time at which the medical necessity review is completed and the agency is advised of the decision in writing.
(3)(a) The behavioral health agency shall document to the managed care organization the patient's need for continuing care and justification for level of care placement following the current treatment period, based on the standard set of criteria established under RCW 41.05.528, with documentation recorded in the patient's medical record.
(b) Beginning January 1, 2025, for inpatient or residential substance use disorder treatment services, the managed care organization may not consider the patient's length of stay at the behavioral health agency when making decisions regarding the authorization to continue care at the behavioral health agency.
(4) Nothing in this section prevents a health carrier from denying coverage based on insurance fraud.
(5) If the behavioral health agency under subsection (2)(a) of this section is not in the enrollee's network:
(a) The managed care organization is not responsible for reimbursing the behavioral health agency at a greater rate than would be paid had the agency been in the enrollee's network; and
(b) The behavioral health agency may not balance bill, as defined in RCW 48.43.005
.
(6) When the treatment plan approved by the managed care organization involves transfer of the enrollee to a different facility or to a lower level of care, the care coordination unit of the managed care organization shall work with the current agency to make arrangements for a seamless transfer as soon as possible to an appropriate and available facility or level of care. The managed care organization shall pay the agency for the cost of care at the current facility until the seamless transfer to the different facility or lower level of care is complete. A seamless transfer to a lower level of care may include same day or next day appointments for outpatient care, and does not include payment for nontreatment services, such as housing services. If placement with an agency in the managed care organization's network is not available, the managed care organization shall pay the current agency at the service level until a seamless transfer arrangement is made.
(7) The requirements of this section do not apply to treatment provided in out-of-state facilities.
(8) For the purposes of this section "withdrawal management services" means twenty-four hour medically managed or medically monitored detoxification and assessment and treatment referral for adults or adolescents withdrawing from alcohol or drugs, which may include induction on medications for addiction recovery.
[
2024 c 366 s 8
;
2020 c 345 s 4
.]
NOTES:
Findings
—
Intent
—
2024 c 366:
See note following RCW 71.24.847
.
Findings
—
Intent
—
2020 c 345:
See note following RCW 41.05.526
.
RCW 71.24.619
Standard set of criteria
—
Authority review.
When updated versions of the ASAM Criteria, treatment criteria for addictive, substance related, and co-occurring conditions, inclusive of adolescent and transition age youth versions, are published by the American society of addiction medicine, the health care authority and the office of the insurance commissioner shall jointly determine whether to use the updated version, and, if so, the date upon which the updated version must begin to be used by medicaid managed care organizations, carriers, and other relevant entities. Both agencies shall post notice of their decision on their websites. For purposes of the ASAM Criteria, 4th edition, medicaid managed care organizations and carriers shall begin to use the updated criteria no later than January 1, 2028, unless the health care authority and the office of the insurance commissioner jointly determine that it should not be used.
[
2025 c 335 s 1
;
2024 c 366 s 12
.]
NOTES:
Findings
—
Intent
—
2024 c 366:
See note following RCW 71.24.847
.
RCW 71.24.621
Withdrawal management services
—
Requirements for limiting medication usage.
(1) If a behavioral health provider or licensed or certified behavioral health agency that provides withdrawal management services to a patient seeks to discontinue usage or reduce dosage amounts of a medication, including a psychotropic medication, that the patient has been using in accordance with the directions of a prescribing health care provider, the withdrawal management provider shall engage in individualized, patient-centered, shared decision making, using nonjudgmental and compassionate communication and, with the consent of the patient, make a good faith effort to consult the prescribing health care provider. A withdrawal management provider may not, by philosophy or practice, categorically require all patients to discontinue all psychotropic medications, including benzodiazepines and medications for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
(2) This section does not apply to hospitals licensed under chapter
70.41
RCW and psychiatric hospitals licensed under chapter
71.12
RCW.
[
2024 c 366 s 5
.]
NOTES:
Findings
—
Intent
—
2024 c 366:
See note following RCW 71.24.847
.
RCW 71.24.625
Uniform application of chapter
—
Training for designated crisis responders.
The authority shall ensure that the provisions of this chapter are applied by behavioral health administrative services organizations and managed care organizations in a consistent and uniform manner. The authority shall also ensure that, to the extent possible within available funds, the designated crisis responders are specifically trained in adolescent substance use disorder issues, the substance use disorder commitment laws, and the criteria for commitment.
[
2019 c 325 s 1042
;
2018 c 201 s 4052
;
2016 sp.s. c 29 s 521
;
1992 c 205 s 306
. Formerly RCW 70.96A.905
.]
NOTES:
Effective date
—
2019 c 325:
See note following RCW 71.24.011
.
Findings
—
Intent
—
Effective date
—
2018 c 201:
See notes following RCW 41.05.018
.
Effective dates
—
2016 sp.s. c 29:
See note following RCW 71.05.760
.
Short title
—
Right of action
—
2016 sp.s. c 29:
See notes following RCW 71.05.010
.
Part headings not law
—
Severability
—
1992 c 205:
See notes following RCW 13.40.010
.
RCW 71.24.630
Integrated, comprehensive screening and assessment process for substance use and mental disorders.
(1) The authority shall maintain an integrated and comprehensive screening and assessment process for substance use and mental disorders and co-occurring substance use and mental disorders.
(a) The process adopted shall include, at a minimum:
(i) An initial screening tool that can be used by intake personnel systemwide and which will identify the most common types of co-occurring disorders;
(ii) An assessment process for those cases in which assessment is indicated that provides an appropriate degree of assessment for most situations, which can be expanded for complex situations;
(iii) Identification of triggers in the screening that indicate the need to begin an assessment;
(iv) Identification of triggers after or outside the screening that indicate a need to begin or resume an assessment;
(v) The components of an assessment process and a protocol for determining whether part or all of the assessment is necessary, and at what point; and
(vi) Emphasis that the process adopted under this section is to replace and not to duplicate existing intake, screening, and assessment tools and processes.
(b) The authority shall consider existing models, including those already adopted by other states, and to the extent possible, adopt an established, proven model.
(c) The integrated, comprehensive screening and assessment process shall be implemented statewide by all substance use disorder and mental health treatment providers and designated crisis responders.
(2) The authority shall provide for adequate training to effect statewide implementation and, upon request, shall report the rates of co-occurring disorders [and] the stage of screening or assessment at which the co-occurring disorder was identified to the appropriate committees of the legislature.
(3) The authority shall establish performance-based contracts with managed care organizations and behavioral health administrative services organizations and implement the integrated screening and assessment process.
[
2019 c 325 s 1043
;
2018 c 201 s 4053
;
2016 sp.s. c 29 s 513
;
2014 c 225 s 77
;
2005 c 504 s 601
. Formerly RCW 70.96C.010
.]
NOTES:
Effective date
—
2019 c 325:
See note following RCW 71.24.011
.
Findings
—
Intent
—
Effective date
—
2018 c 201:
See notes following RCW 41.05.018
.
Effective dates
—
2016 sp.s. c 29:
See note following RCW 71.05.760
.
Short title
—
Right of action
—
2016 sp.s. c 29:
See notes following RCW 71.05.010
.
Effective date
—
2014 c 225:
See note following RCW 71.24.016
.
Findings
—
Intent
—
Severability
—
Application
—
Construction
—
Captions, part headings, subheadings not law
—
Adoption of rules
—
Effective dates
—
2005 c 504:
See notes following RCW 71.05.027
.
Alphabetization
—
Correction of references
—
2005 c 504:
See note following RCW 71.05.020
.
RCW 71.24.635
Cannabis consumption
—
Health care provider guidance
—
Promotion of reduction and cessation programs for populations at risk of serious complications
—
Request for proposal
—
Report.
(Expires December 31, 2028.)
(1) Subject to amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, the health care authority must issue a request for proposal and contract with an entity to develop, implement, test, and evaluate guidance and health interventions for health care providers and patients at risk for developing serious complications due to cannabis consumption who are seeking care in emergency departments, primary care settings, behavioral health settings, other health care facilities, and for use by state poison control and recovery hotlines to promote cannabis use reduction and cessation for the following populations:
(a) Youth and adults at high risk of adverse mental health impacts from use of high THC cannabis;
(b) Youth and adults who have experienced a cannabis-induced first episode psychosis but do not have a diagnosis of a psychotic disorder; and
(c) Youth and adults who have a diagnosed psychotic disorder and use cannabis.
(2) The health care authority must submit a preliminary report to the appropriate committees of the legislature summarizing the progress toward developing and testing health interventions and recruiting patients and health care facilities to participate by December 1, 2025. The health care authority must provide a progress report on initial outcomes of the health interventions for participating patients and health care facilities by July 1, 2027. The health care authority must submit a final report to the appropriate committees of the legislature summarizing the results of the interventions and any recommendations for implementation of health interventions by December 1, 2028.
(3) A contract entered under the authorization in this section must include, in the scope of work, data gathering on adverse health impacts occurring in Washington associated with consumption of high THC cannabis, and data gathered must be included in the reports submitted to the legislature under this section.
(4) This section expires December 31, 2028.
[
2024 c 360 s 5
.]
NOTES:
Finding
—
Intent
—
2024 c 360:
See notes following RCW 69.50.357
.
RCW 71.24.640
Standards for certification or licensure of evaluation and treatment facilities.
The secretary shall license or certify evaluation and treatment facilities that meet state minimum standards. The standards for certification or licensure of evaluation and treatment facilities by the department must include standards relating to maintenance of good physical and mental health and other services to be afforded persons pursuant to this chapter and chapters
71.05
and
71.34
RCW, and must otherwise assure the effectuation of the purposes of these chapters.
[
2018 c 201 s 4054
;
2016 sp.s. c 29 s 507
.]
NOTES:
Findings
—
Intent
—
Effective date
—
2018 c 201:
See notes following RCW 41.05.018
.
Effective dates
—
2016 sp.s. c 29:
See note following RCW 71.05.760
.
Short title
—
Right of action
—
2016 sp.s. c 29:
See notes following RCW 71.05.010
.
RCW 71.24.645
Standards for certification or licensure of crisis stabilization units.
The secretary shall license or certify crisis stabilization units that meet state minimum standards. The standards for certification or licensure of crisis stabilization units by the department must include standards that:
(1) Permit location of the units at a jail facility if the unit is physically separate from the general population of the jail;
(2) Require administration of the unit by mental health professionals who direct the stabilization and rehabilitation efforts; and
(3) Provide an environment affording security appropriate with the alleged criminal behavior and necessary to protect the public safety.
[
2018 c 201 s 4055
;
2016 sp.s. c 29 s 508
.]
NOTES:
Findings
—
Intent
—
Effective date
—
2018 c 201:
See notes following RCW 41.05.018
.
Effective dates
—
2016 sp.s. c 29:
See note following RCW 71.05.760
.
Short title
—
Right of action
—
2016 sp.s. c 29:
See notes following RCW 71.05.010
.
RCW 71.24.648
Standards for certification or licensure of intensive behavioral health treatment facilities.
The secretary shall license or certify intensive behavioral health treatment facilities that meet state minimum standards. The secretary must establish rules working with the authority and the department of social and health services to create standards for licensure or certification of intensive behavioral health treatment facilities. The rules, at a minimum, must:
(1) Clearly define clinical eligibility criteria in alignment with how "intensive behavioral health treatment facility" is defined in RCW 71.24.025
;
(2) Require twenty-four hour supervision of residents;
(3) Establish staffing requirements that provide an appropriate response to the acuity of the residents, including a clinical team and a high staff to patient ratio;
(4) Establish requirements for the ability to provide services and an appropriate level of care to individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities. The requirements must include staffing and training;
(5) Require access to regular psychosocial rehabilitation services including, but not limited to, skills training in daily living activities, social interaction, behavior management, impulse control, and self-management of medications;
(6) Establish requirements for the ability to use limited egress;
(7) Limit services to persons at least eighteen years of age; and
(8) Establish resident rights that are substantially similar to the rights of residents in long-term care facilities.
[
2019 c 324 s 3
.]
NOTES:
Findings
—
Intent
—
2019 c 324:
"The legislature finds that there is a need for additional bed capacity and services for individuals with behavioral health needs. The legislature further finds that for many individuals, it is best for them to receive treatment in their communities and in smaller facilities that help them stay closer to home. The legislature further finds that the state hospitals are struggling to keep up with rising demand; there are challenges to finding appropriate placements for patients ready to discharge, and there are a shortage of appropriate facilities for individuals with complex behavioral health needs.
Therefore, the legislature intends to provide more options in the continuum of care for behavioral health clients by creating new facility types and by expanding the capacity of current provider types in the community." [
2019 c 324 s 1
.]
Mental health drop-in center services pilot program
—
2019 c 324:
See note following RCW 71.24.649
.
Report
—
2019 c 324:
See note following RCW 70.38.111
.
Recommendations
—
Residential intensive behavioral health and developmental disability services
—
2019 c 324:
See note following RCW 74.39A.030
.
RCW 71.24.649
Standards for certification or licensure of mental health peer-run respite centers.
The secretary shall license or certify mental health peer-run respite centers that meet state minimum standards. In consultation with the authority and the department of social and health services, the secretary must:
(1) Establish requirements for licensed and certified community behavioral health agencies to provide mental health peer-run respite center services and establish physical plant and service requirements to provide voluntary, short-term, noncrisis services that focus on recovery and wellness;
(2) Require licensed and certified agencies to partner with the local crisis system including, but not limited to, evaluation and treatment facilities and designated crisis responders;
(3) Establish staffing requirements, including rules to ensure that facilities are peer-run;
(4) Limit services to a maximum of seven days in a month;
(5) Limit services to individuals who are experiencing psychiatric distress, but do not meet legal criteria for involuntary hospitalization under chapter
71.05
RCW; and
(6) Limit services to persons at least eighteen years of age.
[
2021 c 302 s 403
;
2019 c 324 s 5
.]
NOTES:
Findings
—
Intent
—
2021 c 302:
See note following RCW 71.24.890
.
Mental health drop-in center services pilot program
—
2019 c 324:
"(1) The health care authority shall establish a pilot program to provide mental health drop-in center services. The mental health drop-in center services shall provide a peer-focused recovery model during daytime hours through a community-based, therapeutic, less restrictive alternative to hospitalization for acute psychiatric needs. The program shall assist clients in need of voluntary, short-term, noncrisis services that focus on recovery and wellness. Clients may refer themselves, be brought to the center by law enforcement, be brought to the center by family members, or be referred by an emergency department.
(2) The pilot program shall be conducted in the largest city in a regional service area that has at least nine counties. Funds to support the pilot program shall be distributed through the behavioral health administrative service organization that serves the pilot program.
(3) The pilot program shall begin on January 1, 2020, and conclude July 1, 2022.
(4) By December 1, 2020, the health care authority shall submit a preliminary report to the governor and the appropriate committees of the legislature. The preliminary report shall include a survey of peer mental health programs that are operating in the state, including the location, type of services offered, and number of clients served. By December 1, 2021, the health care authority shall report to the governor and the appropriate committees of the legislature on the results of the pilot program. The report shall include information about the number of clients served, the needs of the clients, the method of referral for the clients, and recommendations on how to expand the program statewide, including any recommendations to account for different needs in urban and rural areas." [
2019 c 324 s 12
.]
Findings
—
Intent
—
2019 c 324:
See note following RCW 71.24.648
.
Report
—
2019 c 324:
See note following RCW 70.38.111
.
Recommendations
—
Residential intensive behavioral health and developmental disability services
—
2019 c 324:
See note following RCW 74.39A.030
.
RCW 71.24.650
Standards for certification or licensure of a clubhouse.
The secretary shall license or certify clubhouses that meet state minimum standards. The standards for certification or licensure of a clubhouse by the department must at a minimum include:
(1) The facilities may be peer-operated and must be recovery-focused;
(2) Members and employees must work together;
(3) Members must have the opportunity to participate in all the work of the clubhouse, including administration, research, intake and orientation, outreach, hiring, training and evaluation of staff, public relations, advocacy, and evaluation of clubhouse effectiveness;
(4) Members and staff and ultimately the clubhouse director must be responsible for the operation of the clubhouse, central to this responsibility is the engagement of members and staff in all aspects of clubhouse operations;
(5) Clubhouse programs must be comprised of structured activities including but not limited to social skills training, vocational rehabilitation, employment training and job placement, and community resource development;
(6) Clubhouse programs must provide in-house educational programs that significantly utilize the teaching and tutoring skills of members and assist members by helping them to take advantage of adult education opportunities in the community;
(7) Clubhouse programs must focus on strengths, talents, and abilities of its members;
(8) The work-ordered day may not include medication clinics, day treatment, or other therapy programs within the clubhouse.
[
2018 c 201 s 4057
;
2016 sp.s. c 29 s 509
.]
NOTES:
Findings
—
Intent
—
Effective date
—
2018 c 201:
See notes following RCW 41.05.018
.
Effective dates
—
2016 sp.s. c 29:
See note following RCW 71.05.760
.
Short title
—
Right of action
—
2016 sp.s. c 29:
See notes following RCW 71.05.010
.
RCW 71.24.657
Recovery residences
—
Funding
—
Voucher program
—
Outreach
—
Training.
Subject to the availability of funds appropriated for this specific purpose, the authority shall:
(1) Make sufficient funding available to support establishment of an adequate and equitable stock of recovery residences in each region of the state;
(2) Establish a voucher program to allow accredited recovery housing operators to hold bed space for individuals who are waiting for treatment;
(3) Conduct outreach to underserved and rural areas to support the development of recovery housing, including adequate resources for women, LGBTQIA+ communities, Black, indigenous, and other people of color communities, immigrant communities, and youth; and
(4) Develop a training for housing providers by January 1, 2024, to assist them with providing appropriate service to LGBTQIA+ communities, Black, indigenous, and other people of color communities, and immigrant communities, including consideration of topics like harassment, communication, antiracism, diversity, and gender-affirming behavior, and ensure applicants for grants or loans related to recovery residences receive access to the training.
[
2023 sp.s. c 1 s 17
.]
RCW 71.24.660
Recovery residences
—
Referrals by licensed or certified service providers.
Beginning January 1, 2023, a licensed or certified service provider may not refer a client who is appropriate for housing in a recovery residence, to support the client's recovery from a substance use disorder, to a recovery residence that is not included in the registry of approved recovery residences maintained by the authority under RCW 41.05.760
. This section does not otherwise limit the discharge or referral options available for a person in recovery from a substance use disorder to any other appropriate placements or services.
[
2019 c 264 s 5
.]
NOTES:
Findings
—
2019 c 264:
See note following RCW 41.05.760
.
RCW 71.24.665
Psychiatric treatment, evaluation, and bed utilization for American Indians and Alaska Natives
—
Report by authority.
(1) The authority shall provide an annual report on psychiatric treatment and evaluation and bed utilization for American Indians and Alaska Natives starting on October 1, 2020. The report shall be available for review by the tribes, urban Indian health programs, and the American Indian health commission for Washington state.
(2) Indian health care providers shall be included in any bed tracking system created by the authority.
[
2020 c 256 s 307
.]
RCW 71.24.670
Substance use disorder treatment facilities and entities
—
Record sharing.
Any substance use disorder treatment facilities and entities that provide behavioral health services where the department of children, youth, and families is investigating child abuse or neglect, as provided for under RCW 26.44.210, shall share records and any other information that is relevant to the department of children, youth, and families' investigation. Any records or information shared with the department of children, youth, and families retains any confidentiality protections under state or federal law.
[
2023 c 441 s 5
.]
NOTES:
Finding
—
Intent
—
2023 c 441:
See note following RCW 74.15.325
.
RCW 71.24.700
Long-term inpatient care and mental health placements
—
Contracting with community hospitals and evaluation and treatment facilities.
(1) The authority and the entities identified in *RCW 71.24.310
and
71.24.380
shall: (a) Work with willing community hospitals licensed under chapters
70.41
and
71.12
RCW and evaluation and treatment facilities licensed or certified under chapter
71.05
RCW to assess their capacity to become licensed or certified to provide long-term inpatient care and to meet the requirements of this chapter; and (b) enter into contracts and payment arrangements with such hospitals and evaluation and treatment facilities choosing to provide long-term mental health placements, to the extent that willing licensed or certified facilities are available.
(2) Nothing in this section requires any community hospital or evaluation and treatment facility to be licensed or certified to provide long-term mental health placements.
[
2019 c 324 s 6
.]
NOTES:
*Reviser's note:
RCW 71.24.310
was repealed by 2019 c 325 s 6004, effective January 1, 2020.
Findings
—
Intent
—
2019 c 324:
See note following RCW 71.24.648
.
Mental health drop-in center services pilot program
—
2019 c 324:
See note following RCW 71.24.649
.
Report
—
2019 c 324:
See note following RCW 70.38.111
.
Recommendations
—
Residential intensive behavioral health and developmental disability services
—
2019 c 324:
See note following RCW 74.39A.030
.
RCW 71.24.710
Reentry services
—
Work group.
(1) The authority shall convene a reentry services work group to consider ways to improve reentry services for persons with an identified behavioral health services need. The work group shall:
(a) Advise the authority on its waiver application under RCW 71.24.715
;
(b) Develop a plan to assure notifications of the person's release date, current location, and other appropriate information are provided to the person's managed care organization before the person's scheduled release from confinement, or as soon as practicable thereafter, in accordance with RCW 74.09.555
;
(c) Consider the value of expanding, replicating, or adapting the essential elements of the reentry community services program under RCW 72.09.370
and
71.24.470
to benefit new populations, such as:
(i) A larger group of incarcerated persons in the department of corrections than those who currently have the opportunity to participate;
(ii) State hospital patients committed under criminal insanity laws under chapter
10.77
RCW;
(iii) Involuntary treatment patients committed under chapter
71.05
RCW;
(iv) Persons committed to juvenile rehabilitation;
(v) Persons confined in jail; and
(vi) Other populations recommended by the work group;
(d) Consider whether modifications should be made to the reentry community services program;
(e) Identify potential costs and savings for the state and local governments which could be realized through the use of telehealth technology to provide behavioral health services, expansion or replication of the reentry community services program, or other reentry programs which are supported by evidence;
(f) Consider the sustainability of reentry or diversion services provided by pilot programs funded by contempt fines in
Trueblood, et al., v. Washington State DSHS
, No. 15-35462;
(g) Recommend a means of funding expanded reentry services; and
(h) Consider incorporation of peer services into the reentry community services programs.
(2)(a) In addition, the authority shall convene a subcommittee of the work group consisting of a representative of the authority, one representative of each managed care organization contracted with the authority under chapter
74.09
RCW, representatives of the Washington association of sheriffs and police chiefs, representatives of jails, and other members that the work group determines are appropriate to inform the tasks of the work group.
(b) The subcommittee must:
(i) Determine and make progress toward implementing a process for transmitting real-time location information related to incarcerated individuals to the managed care organization in which the individual is enrolled;
(ii) Develop a process to transmit patient health information between jails and managed care organizations to ensure high quality health care for incarcerated individuals enrolled in a managed care organization; and
(iii) Improve collaboration between the authority, the managed care organizations, and the jails as it pertains to care coordination both when an individual enters custody and upon release.
(c) The subcommittee must submit an initial report to the relevant committees of the legislature by December 1, 2021, and a final report by December 1, 2022. The reports shall evaluate the progress of managed care organizations with respect to meeting their contractual obligations regarding clinical coordination when an individual enters custody as well as care coordination and connection to reentry services upon release, including any corrective action taken by the authority against a managed care organization related to noncompliance. The reports shall also identify any barriers to effective care coordination for individuals in jail and recommendations to overcome those barriers.
(3) The authority shall invite participation in the work group by stakeholders including but not limited to representatives from: Disability rights Washington; behavioral health advocacy organizations; behavioral health peers; reentry community services providers; community behavioral health agencies; advocates for persons with developmental disabilities; the department of corrections; the department of children, youth, and families; the Washington association of sheriffs and police chiefs; prosecutors; defense attorneys; the Washington state association of counties; King county behavioral health and recovery division; the department of social and health services; state hospital employees who serve patients committed under chapters
10.77
and
71.05
RCW; the public safety review panel under *RCW 10.77.139
; managed care organizations; behavioral health administrative services organizations; jail administrators; the Washington statewide reentry council; the Washington state senate; the Washington state house of representatives; and the Washington state institute for public policy.
(4) The work group must provide a progress report to the governor and appropriate committees of the legislature by July 1, 2022, and a final report by December 1, 2023.
[
2021 c 243 s 9
.]
NOTES:
*Reviser's note:
This RCW reference has been corrected to reflect the reorganization of chapter
10.77
RCW by
2025 c 358 s 2
.
Findings
—
2021 c 243:
See note following RCW 74.09.670
.
RCW 71.24.715
Reentry services
—
Waiver application.
(1) The health care authority shall apply for a waiver allowing the state to provide medicaid services to persons who are confined in a correctional facility as defined in RCW 72.09.015
and
70.48.020, institution or facility operated by the department of children, youth, and families, or a state hospital or other treatment facility up to 30 days prior to the person's release or discharge to the community. The purpose is to create continuity of care and provide reentry services.
(2) The health care authority shall consult with the work group established under RCW 71.24.710
about how to optimize the waiver application and its chance of success, including by limiting its scope if deemed appropriate.
(3) The health care authority shall inform the governor and relevant committees of the legislature in writing when the waiver application is submitted and update them as to progress of the waiver at appropriate points.
(4) No provision of this section may be interpreted to require the health care authority to provide medicaid services to persons who are confined in a correctional facility, state hospital, or other treatment facility up to 30 days prior to the person's release or discharge unless the health care authority obtains final approval for its waiver application from the centers for medicare and medicaid services.
[
2025 c 12 s 4
;
2021 c 243 s 4
.]
NOTES:
Finding
—
Conflict with federal requirements
—
2025 c 12:
See notes following RCW 74.09.670
.
Findings
—
2021 c 243:
See note following RCW 74.09.670
.
RCW 71.24.720
Less restrictive alternative treatment
—
Transition teams.
The authority shall coordinate with the department of social and health services to offer contracts to community behavioral health agencies to support the nonmedicaid costs entailed in fulfilling the agencies' role as transition team members for a person recommended for conditional release to a less restrictive alternative under *RCW 10.77.550, or for a person who qualifies for multidisciplinary transition team services under RCW 71.05.320
(6)(a)(i). The authority may establish requirements, provide technical assistance, and provide training as appropriate and within available funding.
[
2021 c 263 s 18
.]
NOTES:
*Reviser's note:
This RCW reference has been corrected to reflect the reorganization of chapter
10.77
RCW by
2025 c 358 s 2
.
Application
—
2021 c 263:
See note following RCW 10.77.550
.
RCW 71.24.845
Transfer of clients between behavioral health administrative services organizations
—
Uniform transfer agreement.
The authority, in consultation with the established behavioral health administrative services organizations, shall develop a uniform transfer agreement to govern the transfer of clients between behavioral health administrative services organizations, taking into account the needs of the regional service area.
[
2019 c 325 s 1044
;
2014 c 225 s 46
;
2013 c 230 s 1
.]
NOTES:
Effective date
—
2019 c 325:
See note following RCW 71.24.011
.
Effective date
—
2014 c 225:
See note following RCW 71.24.016
.
RCW 71.24.847
Transfer of clients
—
Policy and statistic reporting.
(1)(a) By October 1, 2024, each licensed or certified behavioral health agency providing voluntary inpatient or residential substance use disorder treatment services or withdrawal management services shall submit to the department any policies that the agency maintains regarding the transfer or discharge of a person without the person's consent from a facility providing those services. The policies that agencies must submit include any policies related to situations in which the agency transfers or discharges a person without the person's consent, therapeutic progressive disciplinary processes that the agency maintains, and procedures to assure safe transfers and discharges when a patient is discharged without the patient's consent. Behavioral health agencies that do not maintain such policies must provide an attestation to this effect.
(b) By April 1, 2025, the department shall adopt a model policy for licensed or certified behavioral health agencies providing voluntary inpatient or residential substance use disorder treatment services or withdrawal management services to consider when adopting policies related to the transfer or discharge of a person without the person's consent from a facility providing those services. In developing the model policy, the department shall consider the policies submitted by agencies under (a) of this subsection and establish factors to be used in making a decision to transfer or discharge a person without the person's consent. Factors may include, but are not limited to, the person's medical condition, the clinical determination that the person no longer requires treatment or withdrawal management services at the facility, the risk of physical injury presented by the person to the person's self or to other persons at the facility, the extent to which the person's behavior risks the recovery goals of other persons at the facility, and the extent to which the agency has applied a therapeutic progressive disciplinary process. The model policy must include provisions addressing the use of an appropriate therapeutic progressive disciplinary process and procedures to assure safe transfers and discharges of a patient who is discharged without the patient's consent.
(2)(a) Beginning July 1, 2025, every licensed or certified behavioral health agency providing voluntary inpatient or residential substance use disorder treatment services or withdrawal management services shall submit a report to the department for each instance in which a person receiving services either: (i) Was transferred or discharged from the facility by the agency without the person's consent; or (ii) released the person's self from the facility prior to a clinical determination that the person had completed treatment.
(b) The department shall adopt rules to implement the reporting requirement under (a) of this subsection, using a standard form. The rules must require that the agency provide a description of the circumstances related to the person's departure from the facility, including whether the departure was voluntary or involuntary, the extent to which a therapeutic progressive disciplinary process was applied, the patient's self-reported understanding of the reasons for discharge, efforts that were made to avert the discharge, and efforts that were made to establish a safe discharge plan prior to the patient leaving the facility.
(3) Patient health care information contained in reports submitted under subsection (2) of this section is exempt from disclosure under RCW 42.56.360
.
(4) This section does not apply to hospitals licensed under chapter
70.41
RCW and psychiatric hospitals licensed under chapter
71.12
RCW.
[
2024 c 366 s 2
.]
NOTES:
Findings
—
Intent
—
2024 c 366:
"(1) The legislature finds that ensuring that individuals with substance use disorders can enter into and complete residential addiction treatment is an important public policy objective. Substance use disorder providers forcing patients to leave treatment prematurely and insurance authorization barriers both present impediments to realizing this goal.
(2) The legislature further finds that patients with substance use disorders should be provided information regarding and access to the full panoply of treatment options for their condition, as would be the case with any other life-threatening disease. Pharmacotherapies are incredibly effective and severely underutilized tools in the treatment of opioid use disorder and alcohol use disorder. The federal food and drug administration has approved three medications for the treatment of opioid use disorder and three medications for the treatment of alcohol use disorder. Only 37 percent of individuals with opioid use disorder and nine percent of individuals with alcohol use disorder receive medication to treat their condition.
(3) Therefore, it is the intent of the legislature to reduce forced patient discharges from residential addiction treatment, to remove arbitrary insurance authorization barriers to residential addiction treatment, and to ensure that patients with opioid use disorder and alcohol use disorder receive access to care that is consistent with clinical best practices." [
2024 c 366 s 1
.]
RCW 71.24.850
Regional service areas
—
Report
—
Managed care integration.
(1) By December 1, 2018, the department of social and health services and the authority shall report to the governor and the legislature regarding the preparedness of each regional service area to provide mental health services, chemical dependency services, and medical care services to medicaid clients under a fully integrated managed care health system.
(2) By January 1, 2020, the community behavioral health program must be fully integrated in a managed care health system that provides mental health services, chemical dependency services, and medical care services to medicaid clients.
[
2018 c 201 s 4060
;
2014 c 225 s 8
.]
NOTES:
Findings
—
Intent
—
Effective date
—
2018 c 201:
See notes following RCW 41.05.018
.
RCW 71.24.852
Intensive behavioral health treatment facilities
—
Resident rights and access to ombuds services
—
Recommendations to governor and legislature.
By December 1, 2019, the secretary of health, in consultation with the department of social and health services, the department of commerce, the long-term care ombuds, and relevant stakeholders must provide recommendations to the governor and the appropriate committees of the legislature on providing resident rights and access to ombuds services to the residents of the intensive behavioral health treatment facilities.
[
2019 c 324 s 4
.]
NOTES:
Findings
—
Intent
—
2019 c 324:
See note following RCW 71.24.648
.
Mental health drop-in center services pilot program
—
2019 c 324:
See note following RCW 71.24.649
.
Report
—
2019 c 324:
See note following RCW 70.38.111
.
Recommendations
—
Residential intensive behavioral health and developmental disability services
—
2019 c 324:
See note following RCW 74.39A.030
.
RCW 71.24.855
Finding
—
Intent
—
State hospitals.
The legislature finds that the growing demand for state hospital beds has strained the state's capacity to meet the demand while providing for a sufficient workforce to operate the state hospitals safely. It is the intent of the legislature that the executive and legislative branches work collaboratively to maximize access to, safety of, and the therapeutic role of the state hospitals to best serve patients while ensuring the safety of patients and employees.
[
2016 sp.s. c 37 s 1
.]
RCW 71.24.861
Behavioral health system coordination committee.
(1) The legislature finds that ongoing coordination between state agencies, the counties, and the behavioral health administrative services organizations is necessary to coordinate the behavioral health system. To this end, the authority shall establish a committee to meet quarterly to address systemic issues, including but not limited to the data-sharing needs of behavioral health system partners.
(2) The committee established in subsection (1) of this section must be convened by the authority, meet quarterly, and include representatives from:
(a) The authority;
(b) The department of social and health services;
(c) The department;
(d) The office of the governor;
(e) One representative from the behavioral health administrative services organization per regional service area; and
(f) One county representative per regional service area.
[
2023 c 292 s 3
;
2019 c 325 s 1047
.]
NOTES:
Findings
—
Intent
—
2023 c 292:
See note following RCW 74.09.871
.
Effective date
—
2019 c 325:
See note following RCW 71.24.011
.
RCW 71.24.870
Behavioral health services
—
Adoption of rules
—
Audit.
(1) Rules adopted by the department relating to the provision of behavioral health services must:
(a) Identify areas in which duplicative or inefficient documentation requirements can be eliminated or streamlined for providers;
(b) Limit prescriptive requirements for individual initial assessments to allow clinicians to exercise professional judgment to conduct age-appropriate, strength-based psychosocial assessments, including current needs and relevant history according to current best practices;
(c) Exempt providers from duplicative state documentation requirements when the provider is following documentation requirements of an evidence-based, research-based, or state-mandated program that provides adequate protection for patient safety; and
(d) Be clear and not unduly burdensome in order to maximize the time available for the provision of care.
(2) Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, audits conducted by the department relating to provision of behavioral health services must:
(a) Rely on a sampling methodology to conduct reviews of personnel files and clinical records based on written guidelines established by the department that are consistent with the standards of other licensing and accrediting bodies;
(b) Treat organizations with multiple locations as a single entity. The department must not require annual visits at all locations operated by a single entity when a sample of records may be reviewed from a centralized location;
(c) Share audit results with behavioral health administrative services organizations and managed care organizations to assist with their review process and, when appropriate, take steps to coordinate and combine audit activities;
(d) Not require information to be provided in particular documents or locations when the same information is included or demonstrated elsewhere in the clinical file, except where required by federal law; and
(e) Ensure that audits involving manualized programs such as wraparound with intensive services or other evidence or research-based programs are conducted to the extent practicable by personnel familiar with the program model and in a manner consistent with the documentation requirements of the program.
[
2019 c 325 s 1045
;
2017 c 207 s 2
.]
NOTES:
Effective date
—
2019 c 325:
See note following RCW 71.24.011
.
Contingent effective date
—
2017 c 207 s 2:
"Section 2 of this act takes effect only if neither Substitute House Bill No. 1388 (including any later amendments or substitutes) nor Substitute Senate Bill No. 5259 (including any later amendments or substitutes) is signed into law by the governor by July 23, 2017." [
2017 c 207 s 5
.] Neither Substitute House Bill No. 1388 nor Substitute Senate Bill No. 5259 was signed into law by July 23, 2017.
Findings
—
Intent
—
2017 c 207:
"The legislature finds that a prioritized recommendation of the children's mental health work group, as reported in December 2016, is to reduce burdensome and duplicative paperwork requirements for providers of children's mental health services. This recommendation is consistent with the recommendations of the behavioral health workforce assessment of the workforce training and education coordinating board to reduce time-consuming documentation requirements and the behavioral and primary health regulatory alignment task force to streamline regulations and reduce the time spent responding to inefficient and excessive audits.
The legislature further finds that duplicative and overly prescriptive documentation and audit requirements negatively impact the adequacy of the provider network by reducing workforce morale and limiting the time available for patient care. Such requirements create costly barriers to the efficient provision of services for children and their families. The legislature also finds that current state regulations are often duplicative or conflicting with research-based models and other state-mandated treatment models intended to improve the quality of services and ensure positive outcomes. These barriers can be reduced while creating a greater emphasis on quality, outcomes, and safety.
The legislature further finds that social workers serving children are encumbered by burdensome paperwork requirements which can interfere with the effective delivery of services.
Therefore, the legislature intends to require the department of social and health services to take steps to reduce paperwork, documentation, and audit requirements that are inefficient or duplicative for social workers who serve children and for providers of mental health services to children and families, and to encourage the use of effective treatment models to improve the quality of services." [
2017 c 207 s 1
.]
RCW 71.24.872
Regulatory parity between primary care and behavioral health care settings
—
Initial documentation requirements for patients
—
Administrative burdensomeness.
(1) The legislature finds that behavioral health integration requires parity in the approach to regulation between primary care providers and behavioral health agencies.
(2) Neither the authority nor the department may provide initial documentation requirements for patients receiving care in a behavioral health agency, either in contract or rule, which are substantially more administratively burdensome to complete than initial documentation requirements in primary care settings, unless such documentation is required by federal law or to receive federal funds.
[
2019 c 325 s 5032
.]
NOTES:
Effective date
—
2019 c 325:
See note following RCW 71.24.011
.
RCW 71.24.880
Interlocal leadership structure
—
Transition to fully integrated managed care within a regional service area.
(1) The authority shall, upon the request of a county authority or authorities within a regional service area, collaborate with counties to create an interlocal leadership structure that includes participation from counties and the managed health care systems serving that regional service area. The interlocal leadership structure must include representation from physical and behavioral health care providers, tribes, and other entities serving the regional service area as necessary.
(2) The interlocal leadership structure regional organization must be chaired by the counties and jointly administered by the authority, managed health care systems, and counties. It must design and implement the fully integrated managed care model for that regional service area to assure clients are at the center of care delivery and support integrated delivery of physical and behavioral health care at the provider level.
(3) The interlocal leadership structure may address, but is not limited to addressing, the following topics:
(a) Alignment of contracting, administrative functions, and other processes to minimize administrative burden at the provider level to achieve outcomes;
(b) Monitoring implementation of fully integrated managed care in the regional service area, including design of an early warning system to monitor ongoing success to achieve better outcomes and to make adjustments to the system as necessary;
(c) Developing regional coordination processes for capital infrastructure requests, local capacity building, and other community investments;
(d) Identifying, using, and building on measures and data consistent with, but not limited to, RCW 70.320.030
and
41.05.690, for tracking and maintaining regional accountability for delivery system performance; and
(e) Discussing whether the managed health care systems awarded the contract by the authority for a regional service area should subcontract with a county-based administrative service organization or other local organization, which may include and determine, in partnership with that organization, which value-add services will best support a bidirectional system of care.
(4) To ensure an optimal transition, regional service areas that enter as mid-adopters must be allowed a transition period of up to one year during which the interlocal leadership structure develops and implements a local plan, including measurable milestones, to transition to fully integrated managed care. The transition plan may include provisions for the counties' organization to maintain existing contracts during some or all of the transition period if the managed care design begins during 2017 to 2018, with the mid-adopter transition year occurring in 2019.
(5) Nothing in this section may be used to compel contracts between a provider, integrated managed health care system, or administrative service organization.
(6) The interlocal leadership group expires December 1, 2021, unless the interlocal leadership group decides locally to extend it.
[
2018 c 201 s 4062
.]
NOTES:
Findings
—
Intent
—
Effective date
—
2018 c 201:
See notes following RCW 41.05.018
.
RCW 71.24.885
Medicaid rate increases
—
Review authority
—
Reporting.
(1) It is the intent of the legislature that behavioral health medicaid rate increases be grounded with the rate-setting process for the provider type or practice setting.
(2) In implementing a rate increase funded by the legislature, including rate increases provided through managed care organizations, the authority must work with the actuaries responsible for establishing medicaid rates for behavioral health services and managed care organizations responsible for distributing funds to behavioral health services to assure that appropriate adjustments are made to the wraparound with intensive services case rate, as well as any other behavioral health services in which a case rate is used.
(3)(a) The authority shall establish a process for verifying that funds appropriated in the omnibus operating appropriations act for targeted behavioral health provider rate increases, including rate increases provided through managed care organizations, are used for the objectives stated in the appropriation.
(b) The process must: (i) Establish which behavioral health provider types the funds are intended for; (ii) include transparency and accountability mechanisms to demonstrate that appropriated funds for targeted behavioral health provider rate increases are passed through, in the manner intended, to the behavioral health providers who are the subject of the funds appropriated for targeted behavioral health provider rate increases; (iii) include actuarial information provided to managed care organizations to ensure the funds directed to behavioral health providers have been appropriately allocated and accounted for; and (iv) include the participation of managed care organizations, behavioral health administrative services organizations, providers, and provider networks that are the subject of the targeted behavioral health provider rate increases. The process must include a method for determining if the funds have increased access to the behavioral health services offered by the behavioral health providers who are the subject of the targeted provider rate increases.
(c) The process may:
(i) Include a quantitative method for determining if the funds have increased access to behavioral health services offered by the behavioral health providers who received the targeted provider rate increases;
(ii) Ensure the viability of pass-through payments in a capitated rate methodology; and
(iii) Ensure that medicaid rate increases account for the impact of value-based contracting on provider reimbursements and implementations of pass-through payments.
(4) By November 1st of each year, the authority shall report to the committees of the legislature with jurisdiction over behavioral health issues and fiscal matters regarding the established process for each appropriation for a targeted behavioral health provider rate increase, whether the funds were passed through in accordance with the appropriation language, and any information about increased access to behavioral health services associated with the appropriation. The reporting requirement for each appropriation for a targeted behavioral health provider rate increase shall continue for two years following the specific appropriation.
[
2020 c 285 s 1
.]
RCW 71.24.887
Training support grants for community mental health providers
—
Behavioral health workforce pilot program.
Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, the authority shall establish a behavioral health workforce pilot program and training support grants for community mental health providers including, but not limited to, clinical social workers, licensed mental health counselors, licensed marriage and family therapists, clinical psychologists, and substance abuse treatment providers. The authority must implement these services in partnership with and through the regional accountable communities of health or the University of Washington behavioral health institute.
(1)(a) The intent of the pilot program is to provide incentive pay for individuals serving as clinical supervisors within community behavioral health agencies, state hospitals, and other facilities operated by the department of social and health services. The desired outcomes of the pilot program include increased internships and entry opportunities for new clinicians through recruitment and retention of supervisors. The authority must ensure the pilot program covers three sites serving primarily medicaid clients in both eastern and western Washington. One of the sites must specialize in the delivery of behavioral health services for medicaid enrolled children. Of the remaining two sites, one must offer substance use disorder treatment services.
(b) The authority must provide a report to the office of financial management and the appropriate committees of the legislature by September 30, 2023, on the outcomes of the pilot program. The report must include:
(i) A description of the mechanism for incentivizing supervisor pay and other strategies used at each of the sites;
(ii) The number of supervisors that received bonus pay at each site;
(iii) The number of students or prelicensure clinicians that received supervision at each site;
(iv) The number of supervision hours provided at each site;
(v) Initial reporting on the number of students or prelicensure clinicians who received supervision through the pilot programs that moved into a permanent position with the pilot program or another community behavioral health program in Washington state at the end of their supervision;
(vi) Identification of options for establishing enhancement of supervisor pay through managed care organization payments to behavioral health providers; and
(vii) Recommendations of individual site policy and practice implications for statewide implementation.
(2) The authority shall establish a grant program to mental health and substance use disorder providers that provides flexible funding for training and mentoring of clinicians serving children and youth. The authority must consult with stakeholders, including but not limited to behavioral health experts in services for children and youth, providers, and consumers, to develop guidelines for how the funding could be used, with a focus on evidence-based and promising practices, continuing education requirements, and quality monitoring infrastructure.
[
2021 c 170 s 3
.]
NOTES:
Findings
—
Intent
—
2021 c 170:
"The legislature finds that there is a compelling and urgent need for coordinated investments in the state's behavioral health workforce. The demand for a qualified behavioral health workforce continues to grow as the availability of services throughout the state does not meet the need. According to the workforce training and education coordinating board's "behavioral health workforce: Barriers and solutions report," Washington ranks 31 out of the 50 states when comparing prevalence of mental illness to access to care. In addition, behavioral health needs have increased since the COVID-19 pandemic began and the need is expected to rise as economic and social hardships continue. Despite increased demand, the legislature finds that there continues to be difficulties in recruiting and retaining professionals who are adequately trained to meet behavioral health needs. Many of these professions require years of training, ranging from some postsecondary education to medical degrees. In addition, the legislature finds that there is significant variation in the geographic distribution of behavioral health providers across the state. Rural and underserved areas face disparities in access to care. High student loan debt loads, better pay, and lighter caseloads can drive behavioral health professionals into private practice or hospital-based settings rather than community-based settings which typically have a higher percentage of medicaid-funded services and higher caseloads.
The legislature finds that there are professions and areas within the behavioral health workforce that are most in need of state investment. The legislature intends to focus coordinated efforts and investments on these areas of greatest need including, but not limited to:
(1) Behavioral health apprenticeships;
(2) Children's mental health professionals;
(3) Peer counselors;
(4) Crisis hotline agents;
(5) Behavioral health residencies for professionals such as psychiatrists, advanced registered nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and pharmacists;
(6) Substance use disorder professionals;
(7) Community mental health workers;
(8) Clinical social workers;
(9) Licensed mental health counselors;
(10) Licensed marriage and family therapists; and
(11) Clinical psychologists.
The legislature also recognizes existing programs that have helped recruit, retain, and grow the behavioral health workforce, such as the Washington health corps, which provides loan repayment to behavioral health professionals, and the Washington state opportunity scholarship, which utilizes a public-private match to fund scholarships for students pursing health fields. Therefore, the legislature intends to increase the behavioral health workforce by expanding on successful existing programs, establishing new ones, and by focusing the efforts of the workforce education investment act." [
2021 c 170 s 1
.]
RCW 71.24.890
National 988 system
—
Designated 988 contact hubs
—
Technology and platform development
—
Agency collaboration.
(1) Establishing the state designated 988 contact hubs and enhancing the crisis response system will require collaborative work between the department, the authority, and regional system partners within their respective roles. The department shall have primary responsibility for designating 988 contact hubs, and shall seek recommendations from the behavioral health administrative services organizations to determine which 988 contact hubs best meet regional needs. The authority shall have primary responsibility for developing, implementing, and facilitating coordination of the crisis response system and services to support the work of the designated 988 contact hubs, regional crisis lines, and other coordinated regional behavioral health crisis response system partners. In any instance in which one agency is identified as the lead, the expectation is that agency will communicate and collaborate with the other to ensure seamless, continuous, and effective service delivery within the statewide crisis response system.
(2) The department shall provide adequate funding for the state's crisis call centers to meet an expected increase in the use of the 988 contact hubs based on the implementation of the 988 crisis hotline. The funding level shall be established at a level anticipated to achieve an in-state call response rate of at least 90 percent by July 22, 2022. The funding level shall be determined by considering standards and cost per call predictions provided by the administrator of the national suicide prevention lifeline, call volume predictions, guidance on crisis call center performance metrics, and necessary technology upgrades. Contracts with the 988 contact hubs:
(a) May provide funding to support designated 988 contact hubs to enter into limited partnerships with the public safety answering point to increase the coordination and transfer of behavioral health calls received by certified public safety telecommunicators that are better addressed by clinic interventions provided by the 988 system. Tax revenue may be used to support partnerships. These partnerships with 988 and public safety may be expanded to include regional crisis lines administered by behavioral health administrative services organizations;
(b) Shall require that 988 contact hubs enter into data-sharing agreements, when appropriate, with the department, the authority, regional crisis lines, and applicable regional behavioral health administrative services organizations to provide reports and client level data regarding 988 contact hub calls, as allowed by and in compliance with existing federal and state law governing the sharing and use of protected health information. Data-sharing agreements with regional crisis lines must include real-time information sharing. All coordinated regional behavioral health crisis response system partners must share dispatch time, arrival time, and disposition for behavioral health calls referred for outreach by each region consistent with any regional protocols developed under RCW 71.24.432
. The department and the authority shall establish requirements for 988 contact hubs to report data to regional behavioral health administrative services organizations for the purposes of maximizing medicaid reimbursement, as appropriate, and implementing this chapter and chapters
71.05
and
71.34
RCW. The behavioral health administrative services organization may use information received from the 988 contact hubs in administering crisis services for the assigned regional service area, contracting with a sufficient number of licensed or certified providers for crisis services, establishing and maintaining quality assurance processes, maintaining patient tracking, and developing and implementing strategies to coordinate care for individuals with a history of frequent crisis system utilization.
(3) The department shall adopt rules by January 1, 2025, to establish standards for designation of crisis call centers as designated 988 contact hubs. The department shall collaborate with the authority, other agencies, and coordinated regional behavioral health crisis response system partners to assure coordination and availability of services, and shall consider national guidelines for behavioral health crisis care as determined by the federal substance abuse and mental health services administration, national behavioral health accrediting bodies, and national behavioral health provider associations to the extent they are appropriate, and recommendations from behavioral health administrative services organizations and the crisis response improvement strategy committee created in RCW 71.24.892
.
(4) The department shall designate 988 contact hubs considering the recommendations of behavioral health administrative services organizations by January 1, 2026. The designated 988 contact hubs shall provide connections to crisis intervention services, triage, care coordination, and referrals for individuals contacting the 988 contact hubs from any jurisdiction within Washington 24 hours a day, seven days a week, using the system platform developed under subsection (5) of this section. The department may not designate more than a total of four 988 contact hubs without legislative approval.
(a) To be designated as a 988 contact hub, the applicant must demonstrate to the department the ability to comply with the requirements of this section and to contract to provide 988 contact hub services. If a 988 contact hub fails to substantially comply with the contract, data-sharing requirements, or approved regional protocols developed under RCW 71.24.432, the department may revoke the designation of the 988 contact hub and, after consulting with the affected behavioral health administrative services organization, may designate a 988 contact hub recommended by a behavioral health administrative services organization which is able to meet necessary state and federal requirements.
(b) The contracts entered shall require designated 988 contact hubs to:
(i) Have an active agreement with the administrator of the national suicide prevention lifeline for participation within its network;
(ii) Meet the requirements for operational and clinical standards established by the department and based upon the national suicide prevention lifeline best practices guidelines and other recognized best practices;
(iii) Employ highly qualified, skilled, and trained clinical staff who have sufficient training and resources to provide empathy to callers in acute distress, de-escalate crises, assess behavioral health disorders and suicide risk, triage to system partners for callers that need additional clinical interventions, and provide case management and documentation. Call center staff shall be trained to make every effort to resolve cases in the least restrictive environment and without law enforcement involvement whenever possible. Call center staff shall coordinate with certified peer counselors or certified peer support specialists to provide follow-up and outreach to callers in distress as available. It is intended for transition planning to include a pathway for continued employment and skill advancement as needed for experienced crisis call center employees;
(iv) Train employees on agricultural community cultural competencies for suicide prevention, which may include sharing resources with callers that are specific to members from the agricultural community. The training must prepare staff to provide appropriate assessments, interventions, and resources to members of the agricultural community. Employees may make warm transfers and referrals to a crisis hotline that specializes in working with members from the agricultural community, provided that no person contacting 988 shall be transferred or referred to another service if they are currently in crisis and in need of emotional support;
(v) Prominently display 988 crisis hotline information on their websites and social media, including a description of what the caller should expect when contacting the crisis call center and a description of the various options available to the caller, including call lines specialized in the behavioral health needs of veterans, American Indian and Alaska Native persons, Spanish-speaking persons, and LGBTQ populations. The website may also include resources for programs and services related to suicide prevention for the agricultural community;
(vi) Collaborate with the authority, the national suicide prevention lifeline, and veterans crisis line networks to assure consistency of public messaging about the 988 crisis hotline;
(vii) Collaborate with coordinated regional behavioral health crisis response system partners within the 988 contact hub's regional service area to develop protocols under RCW 71.24.432, including protocols related to the dispatching of mobile rapid response crisis teams and community-based crisis teams endorsed under RCW 71.24.903
;
(viii) Provide data and reports and participate in evaluations and related quality improvement activities, according to standards established by the department in collaboration with the authority; and
(ix) Enter into data-sharing agreements with the department, the authority, regional crisis lines, and applicable behavioral health administrative services organizations to provide reports and client level data regarding 988 contact hub calls, as allowed by and in compliance with existing federal and state law governing the sharing and use of protected health information, which shall include sharing real-time information with regional crisis lines. The department and the authority shall establish requirements that the designated 988 contact hubs report data to regional behavioral health administrative services organizations for the purposes of maximizing medicaid reimbursement, as appropriate, and implementing this chapter and chapters
71.05
and
71.34
RCW including, but not limited to, administering crisis services for the assigned regional service area, contracting with a sufficient number of licensed or certified providers for crisis services, establishing and maintaining quality assurance processes, maintaining patient tracking, and developing and implementing strategies to coordinate care for individuals with a history of frequent crisis system utilization.
(c) The department and the authority shall incorporate recommendations from the crisis response improvement strategy committee created under RCW 71.24.892
in its agreements with designated 988 contact hubs, as appropriate.
(5) The department and authority must coordinate to develop the technology and platforms necessary to manage and operate the behavioral health crisis response and suicide prevention system. The department and the authority must include designated 988 contact hubs, regional crisis lines, and behavioral health administrative services organizations in the decision-making process for selecting any technology platforms that will be used to operate the system. No decisions made by the department or the authority shall interfere with the routing of the 988 contact hubs calls, texts, or chat as part of Washington's active agreement with the administrator of the national suicide prevention lifeline or 988 administrator that routes 988 contacts into Washington's system. The technologies developed must include:
(a) A new technologically advanced behavioral health and suicide prevention crisis call center system platform for use in 988 contact hubs designated by the department under subsection (4) of this section. This platform, which shall be implemented as soon as possible and fully funded by June 30, 2027, shall be developed by the department and must include the capacity to receive crisis assistance requests through phone calls, texts, chats, and other similar methods of communication that may be developed in the future that promote access to the behavioral health crisis system; and
(b) A behavioral health integrated client referral system capable of providing system coordination information to designated 988 contact hubs and the other entities involved in behavioral health care. This system shall be developed by the authority.
(6) In developing the new technologies under subsection (5) of this section, the department and the authority must coordinate to designate a primary technology system to provide each of the following:
(a) Access to real-time information relevant to the coordination of behavioral health crisis response and suicide prevention services, including:
(i) Real-time bed availability for all behavioral health bed types and recliner chairs, including but not limited to crisis stabilization services, 23-hour crisis relief centers, psychiatric inpatient, substance use disorder inpatient, withdrawal management, peer-run respite centers, and crisis respite services, inclusive of both voluntary and involuntary beds, for use by crisis response workers, first responders, health care providers, emergency departments, and individuals in crisis; and
(ii) Real-time information relevant to the coordination of behavioral health crisis response and suicide prevention services for a person, including the means to access:
(A) Information about any less restrictive alternative treatment orders or mental health advance directives related to the person; and
(B) Information necessary to enable the designated 988 contact hubs to actively collaborate with regional crisis lines, emergency departments, primary care providers and behavioral health providers within managed care organizations, behavioral health administrative services organizations, and other health care payers to establish a safety plan for the person in accordance with best practices and provide the next steps for the person's transition to follow-up noncrisis care. To establish information-sharing guidelines that fulfill the intent of this section the authority shall consider input from the confidential information compliance and coordination subcommittee established under RCW 71.24.892
;
(b) The means to track the outcome of the 988 call to enable appropriate follow-up, cross-system coordination, and accountability, including as appropriate: (i) Any immediate services dispatched and reports generated from the encounter; (ii) the validation of a safety plan established for the caller in accordance with best practices; (iii) the next steps for the caller to follow in transition to noncrisis follow-up care, including a next-day appointment for callers experiencing urgent, symptomatic behavioral health care needs; and (iv) the means to verify and document whether the caller was successful in making the transition to appropriate noncrisis follow-up care indicated in the safety plan for the person, to be completed either by the care coordinator provided through the person's managed care organization, health plan, or behavioral health administrative services organization, or if such a care coordinator is not available or does not follow through, by the staff of the designated 988 contact hub;
(c) A means to facilitate actions to verify and document whether the person's transition to follow-up noncrisis care was completed and services offered, to be performed by a care coordinator provided through the person's managed care organization, health plan, or behavioral health administrative services organization, or if such a care coordinator is not available or does not follow through, by the staff of the designated 988 contact hub;
(d) The means to provide geographically, culturally, and linguistically appropriate services to persons who are part of high-risk populations or otherwise have need of specialized services or accommodations, and to document these services or accommodations; and
(e) When appropriate, consultation with tribal governments to ensure coordinated care in government-to-government relationships, and access to dedicated services to tribal members.
(7) The authority shall:
(a) Collaborate with county authorities and behavioral health administrative services organizations to develop procedures to dispatch behavioral health crisis services in coordination with designated 988 contact hubs to effectuate the intent of this section;
(b) Establish formal agreements with managed care organizations and behavioral health administrative services organizations by January 1, 2023, to provide for the services, capacities, and coordination necessary to effectuate the intent of this section, which shall include a requirement to arrange next-day appointments for persons contacting the 988 contact hub or a regional crisis line experiencing urgent, symptomatic behavioral health care needs with geographically, culturally, and linguistically appropriate primary care or behavioral health providers within the person's provider network, or, if uninsured, through the person's behavioral health administrative services organization;
(c) Create best practices guidelines by July 1, 2023, for deployment of appropriate and available crisis response services by behavioral health administrative services organizations in coordination with designated 988 contact hubs to assist 988 hotline callers to minimize nonessential reliance on emergency room services and the use of law enforcement, considering input from relevant stakeholders and recommendations made by the crisis response improvement strategy committee created under RCW 71.24.892
;
(d) Develop procedures to allow appropriate information sharing and communication between and across crisis and emergency response systems for the purpose of real-time crisis care coordination including, but not limited to, deployment of crisis and outgoing services, follow-up care, and linked, flexible services specific to crisis response; and
(e) Establish guidelines to appropriately serve high-risk populations who request crisis services. The authority shall design these guidelines to promote behavioral health equity for all populations with attention to circumstances of race, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, and geographic location, and include components such as training requirements for call response workers, policies for transferring such callers to an appropriate specialized center or subnetwork within or external to the national suicide prevention lifeline network, and procedures for referring persons who access the 988 contact hubs to linguistically and culturally competent care.
(8) The department shall monitor trends in 988 crisis hotline caller data, as reported by designated 988 contact hubs under subsection (4)(b)(ix) of this section, and submit an annual report to the governor and the appropriate committees of the legislature summarizing the data and trends beginning December 1, 2027.
(9) Subject to authorization by the national 988 administrator and the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, any Washington state subnetwork of the 988 crisis hotline dedicated to the crisis assistance needs of American Indian and Alaska Native persons shall offer services by text, chat, and other similar methods of communication to the same extent as does the general 988 crisis hotline. The department shall coordinate with the substance abuse and mental health services administration for the authorization.
[
2025 c 424 s 980
;
2025 c 360 s 19
. Prior:
2024 c 368 s 4
;
2024 c 364 s 1
; prior:
2023 c 454 s 5
;
2023 c 433 s 16
;
2021 c 302 s 102
.]
NOTES:
Reviser's note:
This section was amended by 2025 c 360 s 19 and by 2025 c 424 s 980, each without reference to the other. Both amendments are incorporated in the publication of this section under RCW 1.12.025
(2). For rule of construction, see RCW 1.12.025
(1).
Effective date
—
2025 c 424:
See note following RCW 9.46.100
.
Findings
—
Intent
—
2021 c 302:
"(1) The legislature finds that:
(a) Nearly 6,000 Washington adults and children died by suicide in the last five years, according to the federal centers for disease control and prevention, tragically reflecting a state increase of 36 percent in the last 10 years.
(b) Suicide is now the single leading cause of death for Washington young people ages 10 through 24, with total deaths 22 percent higher than for vehicle crashes.
(c) Groups with suicide rates higher than the general population include veterans, American Indians/Alaska Natives, LGBTQ youth, and people living in rural counties across the state.
(d) More than one in five Washington residents are currently living with a behavioral health disorder.
(e) The COVID-19 pandemic has increased stressors and substance use among Washington residents.
(f) An improved crisis response system will reduce reliance on emergency room services and the use of law enforcement response to behavioral health crises and will stabilize individuals in the community whenever possible.
(g) To accomplish effective crisis response and suicide prevention, Washington state must continue its integrated approach to address mental health and substance use disorder in tandem under the umbrella of behavioral health disorders, consistently with chapter
71.24
RCW and the state's approach to integrated health care. This is particularly true in the domain of suicide prevention, because of the prevalence of substance use as both a risk factor and means for suicide.
(2) The legislature intends to:
(a) Establish crisis call center hubs and expand the crisis response system in a deliberate, phased approach that includes the involvement of partners from a range of perspectives to:
(i) Save lives by improving the quality of and access to behavioral health crisis services;
(ii) Further equity in addressing mental health and substance use treatment and assure a culturally and linguistically competent response to behavioral health crises;
(iii) Recognize that, historically, crisis response placed marginalized communities, including those experiencing behavioral health crises, at disproportionate risk of poor outcomes and criminal justice involvement;
(iv) Comply with the national suicide hotline designation act of 2020 and the federal communications commission's rules adopted July 16, 2020, to assure that all Washington residents receive a consistent and effective level of 988 suicide prevention and other behavioral health crisis response and suicide prevention services no matter where they live, work, or travel in the state; and
(v) Provide higher quality support for people experiencing behavioral health crises through investment in new technology to create a crisis call center hub system to triage calls and link individuals to follow-up care.
(b) Make additional investments to enhance the crisis response system, including the expansion of crisis teams, to be known as mobile rapid response crisis teams, and deployment of a wide array of crisis stabilization services, such as 23-hour crisis stabilization units based on the living room model, crisis stabilization centers, short-term respite facilities, peer-run respite centers, and same-day walk-in behavioral health services. The overall crisis system shall contain components that operate like hospital emergency departments that accept all walk-ins and ambulance, fire, and police drop-offs. Certified peer counselors as well as peers in other roles providing support must be incorporated within the crisis system and along the continuum of crisis care." [
2021 c 302 s 101
.]
RCW 71.24.892
National 988 system
—
Crisis response improvement strategy committee
—
Membership
—
Steering committee
—
Reports.
(Expires December 31, 2026.)
(1) The crisis response improvement strategy committee is established for the purpose of providing advice in developing an integrated behavioral health crisis response and suicide prevention system containing the elements described in this section. The work of the committee shall be received and reviewed by a steering committee, which shall in turn form subcommittees to provide the technical analysis and input needed to formulate system change recommendations.
(2)(a) Through January 1, 2025, the behavioral health institute at Harborview medical center shall facilitate and provide staff support to the steering committee and to the crisis response improvement strategy committee. The behavioral health institute may contract for the provision of these services.
(b) Beginning January 2, 2025, the authority shall facilitate and provide staff support to the steering committee and to the crisis response improvement strategy committee. The authority may contract for the provision of these services.
(3) The steering committee shall consist of the five members specified as serving on the steering committee in this subsection and one additional member who has been appointed to serve pursuant to the criteria in either (j), (k), (l), or (m) of this subsection. The steering committee shall select three cochairs from among its members to lead the crisis response improvement strategy committee. The crisis response improvement strategy committee shall consist of the following members, who shall be appointed or requested by the authority, unless otherwise noted:
(a) The director of the authority, or his or her designee, who shall also serve on the steering committee;
(b) The secretary of the department, or his or her designee, who shall also serve on the steering committee;
(c) A member representing the office of the governor, who shall also serve on the steering committee;
(d) The Washington state insurance commissioner, or his or her designee;
(e) Up to two members representing federally recognized tribes, one from eastern Washington and one from western Washington, who have expertise in behavioral health needs of their communities;
(f) One member from each of the two largest caucuses of the senate, one of whom shall also be designated to participate on the steering committee, to be appointed by the president of the senate;
(g) One member from each of the two largest caucuses of the house of representatives, one of whom shall also be designated to participate on the steering committee, to be appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives;
(h) The director of the Washington state department of veterans affairs, or his or her designee;
(i) The state 911 coordinator, or his or her designee;
(j) A member with lived experience of a suicide attempt;
(k) A member with lived experience of a suicide loss;
(l) A member with experience of participation in the crisis system related to lived experience of a mental health disorder;
(m) A member with experience of participation in the crisis system related to lived experience with a substance use disorder;
(n) A member representing each crisis call center in Washington that is contracted with the national suicide prevention lifeline;
(o) Up to two members representing behavioral health administrative services organizations, one from an urban region and one from a rural region;
(p) A member representing the Washington council for behavioral health;
(q) A member representing the association of alcoholism and addiction programs of Washington state;
(r) A member representing the Washington state hospital association;
(s) A member representing the national alliance on mental illness Washington;
(t) A member representing the behavioral health interests of persons of color recommended by Sea Mar community health centers;
(u) A member representing the behavioral health interests of persons of color recommended by Asian counseling and referral service;
(v) A member representing law enforcement;
(w) A member representing a university-based suicide prevention center of excellence;
(x) A member representing an emergency medical services department with a CARES program;
(y) A member representing medicaid managed care organizations, as recommended by the association of Washington healthcare plans;
(z) A member representing commercial health insurance, as recommended by the association of Washington healthcare plans;
(aa) A member representing the Washington association of designated crisis responders;
(bb) A member representing the children and youth behavioral health work group;
(cc) A member representing a social justice organization addressing police accountability and the use of deadly force; and
(dd) A member representing an organization specializing in facilitating behavioral health services for LGBTQ populations.
(4) The crisis response improvement strategy committee shall assist the steering committee to identify potential barriers and make recommendations necessary to implement and effectively monitor the progress of the 988 crisis hotline in Washington and make recommendations for the statewide improvement of behavioral health crisis response and suicide prevention services.
(5) The steering committee must develop a comprehensive assessment of the behavioral health crisis response and suicide prevention services system by January 1, 2022, including an inventory of existing statewide and regional behavioral health crisis response, suicide prevention, and crisis stabilization services and resources, and taking into account capital projects which are planned and funded. The comprehensive assessment shall identify:
(a) Statewide and regional insufficiencies and gaps in behavioral health crisis response and suicide prevention services and resources needed to meet population needs;
(b) Quantifiable goals for the provision of statewide and regional behavioral health crisis services and targeted deployment of resources, which consider factors such as reported rates of involuntary commitment detentions, single-bed certifications, suicide attempts and deaths, substance use disorder-related overdoses, overdose or withdrawal-related deaths, and incarcerations due to a behavioral health incident;
(c) A process for establishing outcome measures, benchmarks, and improvement targets, for the crisis response system; and
(d) Potential funding sources to provide statewide and regional behavioral health crisis services and resources.
(6) The steering committee, taking into account the comprehensive assessment work under subsection (5) of this section as it becomes available, after discussion with the crisis response improvement strategy committee and hearing reports from the subcommittees, shall report on the following:
(a) A recommended vision for an integrated crisis network in Washington that includes, but is not limited to: An integrated 988 crisis hotline and designated 988 contact hubs; mobile rapid response crisis teams and community-based crisis teams endorsed under RCW 71.24.903
; mobile crisis response units for youth, adult, and geriatric population; a range of crisis stabilization services; an integrated involuntary treatment system; access to peer-run services, including peer-run respite centers; adequate crisis respite services; and data resources;
(b) Recommendations to promote equity in services for individuals of diverse circumstances of culture, race, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, and for individuals in tribal, urban, and rural communities;
(c) Recommendations for a work plan with timelines to implement appropriate local responses to calls to the 988 crisis hotline within Washington in accordance with the time frames required by the national suicide hotline designation act of 2020;
(d) The necessary components of each of the new technologically advanced behavioral health crisis call center system platform and the new behavioral health integrated client referral system, as provided under RCW 71.24.890, for assigning and tracking response to behavioral health crisis calls and providing real-time bed and outpatient appointment availability to 988 operators, emergency departments, designated crisis responders, and other behavioral health crisis responders, which shall include but not be limited to:
(i) Identification of the components that designated 988 contact hub staff need to effectively coordinate crisis response services and find available beds and available primary care and behavioral health outpatient appointments;
(ii) Evaluation of existing bed tracking models currently utilized by other states and identifying the model most suitable to Washington's crisis behavioral health system;
(iii) Evaluation of whether bed tracking will improve access to all behavioral health bed types and other impacts and benefits; and
(iv) Exploration of how the bed tracking and outpatient appointment availability platform can facilitate more timely access to care and other impacts and benefits;
(e) The necessary systems and capabilities that licensed or certified behavioral health agencies, behavioral health providers, and any other relevant parties will require to report, maintain, and update inpatient and residential bed and outpatient service availability in real time to correspond with the crisis call center system platform or behavioral health integrated client referral system identified in RCW 71.24.890, as appropriate;
(f) A work plan to establish the capacity for the designated 988 contact hubs to integrate Spanish language interpreters and Spanish-speaking call center staff into their operations, and to ensure the availability of resources to meet the unique needs of persons in the agricultural community who are experiencing mental health stresses, which explicitly addresses concerns regarding confidentiality;
(g) A work plan with timelines to enhance and expand the availability of mobile rapid response crisis teams and community-based crisis teams endorsed under RCW 71.24.903
based in each region, including specialized teams as appropriate to respond to the unique needs of youth, including American Indian and Alaska Native youth and LGBTQ youth, and geriatric populations, including older adults of color and older adults with comorbid dementia;
(h) The identification of other personal and systemic behavioral health challenges which implementation of the 988 crisis hotline has the potential to address in addition to suicide response and behavioral health crises;
(i) The development of a plan for the statewide equitable distribution of crisis stabilization services, behavioral health beds, and peer-run respite services;
(j) Recommendations concerning how health plans, managed care organizations, and behavioral health administrative services organizations shall fulfill requirements to provide assignment of a care coordinator and to provide next-day appointments for enrollees who contact the behavioral health crisis system;
(k) Appropriate allocation of crisis system funding responsibilities among medicaid managed care organizations, commercial insurers, and behavioral health administrative services organizations;
(l) Recommendations for constituting a statewide behavioral health crisis response and suicide prevention oversight board or similar structure for ongoing monitoring of the behavioral health crisis system and where this should be established; and
(m) Cost estimates for each of the components of the integrated behavioral health crisis response and suicide prevention system.
(7) The steering committee shall consist only of members appointed to the steering committee under this section. The steering committee shall convene the committee, form subcommittees, assign tasks to the subcommittees, and establish a schedule of meetings and their agendas.
(8) The subcommittees of the crisis response improvement strategy committee shall focus on discrete topics. The subcommittees may include participants who are not members of the crisis response improvement strategy committee, as needed to provide professional expertise and community perspectives. Each subcommittee shall have at least one member representing the interests of stakeholders in a rural community, at least one member representing the interests of stakeholders in an urban community, and at least one member representing the interests of youth stakeholders. The steering committee shall form the following subcommittees:
(a) A Washington tribal 988 subcommittee, which shall examine and make recommendations with respect to the needs of tribes related to the 988 system, and which shall include representation from the American Indian health commission;
(b) A credentialing and training subcommittee, to recommend workforce needs and requirements necessary to implement chapter 302, Laws of 2021, including minimum education requirements such as whether it would be appropriate to allow designated 988 contact hubs to employ clinical staff without a bachelor's degree or master's degree based on the person's skills and life or work experience;
(c) A technology subcommittee, to examine issues and requirements related to the technology needed to implement chapter 302, Laws of 2021;
(d) A cross-system crisis response collaboration subcommittee, to examine and define the complementary roles and interactions between mobile rapid response crisis teams and community-based crisis teams endorsed under RCW 71.24.903, designated crisis responders, law enforcement, emergency medical services teams, 911 and 988 operators, public and private health plans, behavioral health crisis response agencies, nonbehavioral health crisis response agencies, and others needed to implement chapter 302, Laws of 2021;
(e) A confidential information compliance and coordination subcommittee, to examine issues relating to sharing and protection of health information needed to implement chapter 302, Laws of 2021;
(f) A 988 geolocation subcommittee, to examine privacy issues related to federal planning efforts to route 988 crisis hotline calls based on the person's location, rather than area code, including ways to implement the federal efforts in a manner that maintains public and clinical confidence in the 988 crisis hotline. The 988 geolocation subcommittee must include persons with lived experience with behavioral health conditions as well as representatives of crisis call centers, the behavioral health interests of persons of color, and behavioral health providers; and
(g) Any other subcommittee needed to facilitate the work of the committee, at the discretion of the steering committee.
(9) The proceedings of the crisis response improvement strategy committee must be open to the public and invite testimony from a broad range of perspectives. The committee shall seek input from tribes, veterans, the LGBTQ community, and communities of color to help discern how well the crisis response system is currently working and recommend ways to improve the crisis response system.
(10) Legislative members of the crisis response improvement strategy committee shall be reimbursed for travel expenses in accordance with RCW 44.04.120
. Nonlegislative members are not entitled to be reimbursed for travel expenses if they are elected officials or are participating on behalf of an employer, governmental entity, or other organization. Any reimbursement for other nonlegislative members is subject to chapter
43.03
RCW.
(11) The steering committee, with the advice of the crisis response improvement strategy committee, shall provide a progress report and the result of its comprehensive assessment under subsection (5) of this section to the governor and appropriate policy and fiscal committee of the legislature by January 1, 2022. The steering committee shall report the crisis response improvement strategy committee's further progress and the steering committee's recommendations related to designated 988 contact hubs to the governor and appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the legislature by January 1, 2023, and January 1, 2024. The steering committee shall provide its final report to the governor and the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the legislature by January 1, 2025.
(12) This section expires December 31, 2026.
[
2024 c 364 s 2
;
2023 c 454 s 6
;
2021 c 302 s 103
.]
NOTES:
Effective date
—
2021 c 302 s 103:
"Section 103 of this act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect immediately [May 13, 2021]." [
2021 c 302 s 408
.]
Findings
—
Intent
—
2021 c 302:
See note following RCW 71.24.890
.
RCW 71.24.894
National 988 system
—
Department reporting
—
Audit.
(1) The department and authority shall provide an annual report regarding the usage of the 988 crisis hotline, call outcomes, and the provision of crisis services inclusive of mobile rapid response crisis teams and crisis stabilization services. The report shall be submitted to the governor and the appropriate committees of the legislature each November beginning in 2023. The report shall include information on the fund deposits and expenditures of the account created in RCW 82.86.050
.
(2) The department and authority shall coordinate with the department of revenue, and any other agency that is appropriated funding under the account created in RCW 82.86.050, to develop and submit information to the federal communications commission required for the completion of fee accountability reports pursuant to the national suicide hotline designation act of 2020.
(3) The joint legislative audit and review committee shall schedule an audit to begin after the full implementation of chapter 302, Laws of 2021, to provide transparency as to how funds from the statewide 988 behavioral health crisis response and suicide prevention line account have been expended, and to determine whether funds used to provide acute behavioral health, crisis outreach, and stabilization services are being used to supplement services identified as baseline services in the comprehensive analysis provided under RCW 71.24.892, or to supplant baseline services. The committee shall provide a report by November 1, 2027, which includes recommendations as to the adequacy of the funding provided to accomplish the intent of the act and any other recommendations for alteration or improvement.
[
2021 c 302 s 105
.]
NOTES:
Findings
—
Intent
—
2021 c 302:
See note following RCW 71.24.890
.
RCW 71.24.896
National 988 system
—
Duties owed to public
—
Independent contractors.
(1) When acting in their statutory capacities pursuant to chapter 302, Laws of 2021, the state, department, authority, state 911 coordination office, emergency management division, military department, any other state agency, and their officers, employees, and agents are deemed to be carrying out duties owed to the public in general and not to any individual person or class of persons separate and apart from the public. Nothing contained in chapter 302, Laws of 2021 may be construed to evidence a legislative intent that the duties to be performed by the state, department, authority, state 911 coordination office, emergency management division, military department, any other state agency, and their officers, employees, and agents, as required by chapter 302, Laws of 2021, are owed to any individual person or class of persons separate and apart from the public in general.
(2) Each designated 988 contact hub designated by the department under any contract or agreement pursuant to chapter 302, Laws of 2021 shall be deemed to be an independent contractor, separate and apart from the department and the state.
[
2023 c 454 s 7
;
2021 c 302 s 108
.]
NOTES:
Findings
—
Intent
—
2021 c 302:
See note following RCW 71.24.890
.
RCW 71.24.898
National 988 system
—
Technical and operational plan.
For the purpose of development and implementation of technology and platforms by the department and the authority under RCW 71.24.890, the department and the authority shall create a sophisticated technical and operational plan. The plan shall not conflict with, nor delay, the department meeting and satisfying existing 988 federal requirements that are already underway and must be met by July 16, 2022, nor is it intended to delay the initial planning phase of the project, or the planning and deliverables tied to any grant award received and allotted by the department or the authority prior to April 1, 2021. To the extent that funds are appropriated for this specific purpose, the department and the authority must contract for a consultant to critically analyze the development and implementation technology and platforms and operational challenges to best position the solutions for success. Prior to initiation of a new information technology development, which does not include the initial planning phase of this project or any contracting needed to complete the initial planning phase, the department and authority shall submit the technical and operational plan to the governor, office of financial management, steering committee of the crisis response improvement strategy committee created under RCW 71.24.892, and appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the legislature, which shall include the committees referenced in this section. The plan must be approved by Washington technology solutions, the director of the office of financial management, and the steering committee of the crisis response improvement strategy committee, which shall consider any feedback received from the senate ways and means committee chair, the house of representatives appropriations committee chair, the senate environment, energy and technology committee chair, the senate behavioral health subcommittee chair, and the house of representatives health care and wellness committee chair, before any funds are expended for the solutions, other than those funds needed to complete the initial planning phase. A draft technical and operational plan must be submitted no later than January 1, 2022, and a final plan by August 31, 2022.
The plan submitted must include, but not be limited to:
(1) Data management;
(2) Data security;
(3) Data flow;
(4) Data access and permissions;
(5) Protocols to ensure staff are following proper health information privacy procedures;
(6) Cybersecurity requirements and how to meet these;
(7) Service level agreements by vendor;
(8) Maintenance and operations costs;
(9) Identification of what existing software as a service products might be applicable, to include the:
(a) Vendor name;
(b) Vendor offerings to include product module and functionality detail and whether each represent add-ons that must be paid separately;
(c) Vendor pricing structure by year through implementation; and
(d) Vendor pricing structure by year post implementation;
(10) Integration limitations by system;
(11) Data analytic and performance metrics to be required by system;
(12) Liability;
(13) Which agency will host the electronic health record software as a service;
(14) Regulatory agency;
(15) The timeline by fiscal year from initiation to implementation for each solution in chapter 302, Laws of 2021;
(16) How to plan in a manner that ensures efficient use of state resources and maximizes federal financial participation; and
(17) A complete comprehensive business plan analysis.
[
2024 c 54 s 60
;
2021 c 302 s 109
.]
NOTES:
Findings
—
Intent
—
2021 c 302:
See note following RCW 71.24.890
.
RCW 71.24.903
Mobile rapid response crisis team endorsement.
(1) By April 1, 2024, the authority shall establish standards for issuing an endorsement to any mobile rapid response crisis team or community-based crisis team that meets the criteria under either subsection (2) or (3) of this section, as applicable. The endorsement is a voluntary credential that a mobile rapid response crisis team or community-based crisis team may obtain to signify that it maintains the capacity to respond to persons who are experiencing a significant behavioral health emergency requiring an urgent, in-person response. The attainment of an endorsement allows the mobile rapid response crisis team or community-based crisis team to become eligible for performance payments as provided in subsection (10) of this section.
(2) The authority's standards for issuing an endorsement to a mobile rapid response crisis team or a community-based crisis team must consider:
(a) Minimum staffing requirements to effectively respond in-person to individuals experiencing a significant behavioral health emergency. Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, the team must include appropriately credentialed and supervised staff employed by a licensed or certified behavioral health agency and may include other personnel from participating entities listed in subsection (3) of this section. The team shall include certified peer counselors or certified peer support specialists as a best practice to the extent practicable based on workforce availability. The team may include fire departments, emergency medical services, public health, medical facilities, nonprofit organizations, and city or county governments. The team may not include law enforcement personnel;
(b) Capabilities for transporting an individual experiencing a significant behavioral health emergency to a location providing appropriate level crisis stabilization services, as determined by regional transportation procedures, such as crisis receiving centers, crisis stabilization units, and triage facilities. The standards must include vehicle and equipment requirements, including minimum requirements for vehicles and equipment to be able to safely transport the individual, as well as communication equipment standards. The vehicle standards must allow for an ambulance or aid vehicle licensed under chapter
18.73
RCW to be deemed to meet the standards; and
(c) Standards for the initial and ongoing training of personnel and for providing clinical supervision to personnel.
(3) The authority must adjust the standards for issuing an endorsement to a community-based crisis team under subsection (2) of this section if the team is comprised solely of an emergency medical services agency, whether it is part of a fire service agency or a private entity, that is located in a rural county in eastern Washington with a population of less than 60,000 residents. Under the adjusted standards, until January 1, 2030, the authority shall exempt a team from the personnel standards under subsection (2)(a) of this section and issue an endorsement to a team if:
(a) The personnel assigned to the team have met training requirements established by the authority under subsection (2)(c) of this section, as those requirements apply to emergency medical service and fire service personnel, including completion of the three-hour training in suicide assessment, treatment, and management under RCW 43.70.442
;
(b) The team operates under a memorandum of understanding with a licensed or certified behavioral health agency to provide direct, real-time consultation through a behavioral health provider employed by a licensed or certified behavioral health agency while the team is responding to a call. The consultation may be provided by telephone, through remote technologies, or, if circumstances allow, in person; and
(c) The team does not include law enforcement personnel.
(4) Prior to issuing an initial endorsement or renewing an endorsement, the authority shall conduct an on-site survey of the applicant's operation.
(5) An endorsement must be renewed every three years.
(6) The authority shall establish forms and procedures for issuing and renewing an endorsement.
(7) The authority shall establish procedures for the denial, suspension, or revocation of an endorsement.
(8)(a) The decision of a mobile rapid response crisis team or community-based crisis team to seek endorsement is voluntary and does not prohibit a nonendorsed team from participating in the crisis response system when (i) responding to individuals who are not experiencing a significant behavioral health emergency that requires an urgent in-person response or (ii) responding to individuals who are experiencing a significant behavioral health emergency that requires an urgent in-person response when there is not an endorsed team available.
(b) The decision of a mobile rapid response crisis team not to pursue an endorsement under this section does not affect its obligation to comply with any standards adopted by the authority with respect to mobile rapid response crisis teams.
(c) The decision of a mobile rapid response crisis team not to pursue an endorsement under this section does not affect its responsibilities and reimbursement for services as they may be defined in contracts with managed care organizations or behavioral health administrative services organizations.
(9) The costs associated with endorsement activities shall be supported with funding from the statewide 988 behavioral health crisis response and suicide prevention line account established in RCW 82.86.050
.
(10) The authority shall establish an endorsed mobile rapid response crisis team and community-based crisis team performance program with receipts from the statewide 988 behavioral health crisis response and suicide prevention line account.
(a) Subject to funding provided for this specific purpose, the performance program shall:
(i) Issue establishment grants to support mobile rapid response crisis teams and community-based crisis teams seeking to meet the elements necessary to become endorsed under either subsection (2) or (3) of this section;
(ii) Issue performance payments in the form of an enhanced case rate to mobile rapid response crisis teams and community-based crisis teams that have received an endorsement from the authority under either subsection (2) or (3) of this section; and
(iii) Issue supplemental performance payments in the form of an enhanced case rate higher than that available in (a)(ii) of this subsection (10) to mobile rapid response crisis teams and community-based crisis teams that have received an endorsement from the authority under either subsection (2) or (3) of this section and demonstrate to the authority that for the previous three months they met the following response time and in route time standards:
(A) Between January 1, 2025, through December 31, 2026:
(I) Arrive to the individual's location within 30 minutes of being dispatched by the designated 988 contact hub, at least 80 percent of the time in urban areas;
(II) Arrive to the individual's location within 40 minutes of being dispatched by the designated 988 contact hub, at least 80 percent of the time in suburban areas; and
(III) Be in route within 15 minutes of being dispatched by the designated 988 contact hub, at least 80 percent of the time in rural areas; and
(B) On and after January 1, 2027:
(I) Arrive to the individual's location within 20 minutes of being dispatched by the designated 988 contact hub, at least 80 percent of the time in urban areas;
(II) Arrive to the individual's location within 30 minutes of being dispatched by the designated 988 contact hub, at least 80 percent of the time in suburban areas; and
(III) Be in route within 10 minutes of being dispatched by the designated 988 contact hub, at least 80 percent of the time in rural areas.
(b) The authority shall design the program in a manner that maximizes the state's ability to receive federal matching funds.
(11) The authority shall contract with the actuaries responsible for development of medicaid managed care rates to conduct an analysis and develop options for payment mechanisms and levels for rate enhancements under subsection (10) of this section. The authority shall consult with staff from the office of financial management and the fiscal committees of the legislature in conducting this analysis. The payment mechanisms must be developed to maximize leverage of allowable federal medicaid match. The analysis must clearly identify assumptions, include cost projections for the rate level options broken out by fund source, and summarize data used for the cost analysis. The cost projections must be based on Washington state specific utilization and cost data. The analysis must identify low, medium, and high ranges of projected costs associated for each option accounting for varying scenarios regarding the numbers of teams estimated to qualify for the enhanced case rates and supplemental performance payments. The analysis must identify costs for both medicaid clients, and for state-funded nonmedicaid clients paid through contracts with behavioral health administrative services organizations. The analysis must account for phasing in of the number of teams that meet endorsement criteria over time and project annual costs for a four-year period associated with each of the scenarios. The authority shall submit a report summarizing the analysis, payment mechanism options, enhanced performance payment and supplemental performance payment rate level options, and related cost estimates to the office of financial management and the appropriate committees of the legislature by December 1, 2023.
(12) The authority shall conduct a review of the endorsed community-based crisis teams established under subsection (3) of this section and report to the governor and the health policy committees of the legislature by December 1, 2028. The report shall provide information about the engagement of the community-based crisis teams receiving an endorsement under subsection (3) of this section and their ability to provide a timely and appropriate response to persons experiencing a behavioral health crisis and any recommended changes to the teams to better meet the needs of the community including personnel requirements, training standards, and behavioral health provider consultation.
[
2025 c 360 s 20
;
2023 c 454 s 9
.]
RCW 71.24.905
Co-response services.
(1) Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, the University of Washington shall, in consultation and collaboration with the co-responder outreach alliance and other stakeholders as appropriate in the field of co-response:
(a) Establish regular opportunities for police, fire, emergency medical services, peer counselors, and behavioral health personnel working in co-response to convene for activities such as training, exchanging information and best practices around the state and nationally, and providing the University of Washington with assistance with activities described in this section;
(b) Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, administer a small budget to help defray costs for training and professional development, which may include expenses related to attending or hosting site visits with experienced co-response teams;
(c) Develop an assessment to be provided to the governor and legislature by June 30, 2023, describing and analyzing the following:
(i) Existing capacity and shortfalls across the state in co-response teams and the co-response workforce;
(ii) Current alignment of co-response teams with cities, counties, behavioral health administrative services organizations, and call centers; distribution among police, fire, and EMS-based co-response models; and desired alignment;
(iii) Current funding strategies for co-response teams and identification of federal funding opportunities;
(iv) Current data systems utilized and an assessment of their effectiveness for use by co-responders, program planners, and policymakers;
(v) Current training practices and identification of future state training practices;
(vi) Alignment with designated crisis responder activities;
(vii) Recommendations concerning best practices to prepare co-responders to achieve objectives and meet future state crisis system needs, including those of the 988 system;
(viii) Recommendations to align co-responder activities with efforts to reform ways in which persons experiencing a behavioral health crisis interact with the criminal justice system; and
(ix) Assessment of training and educational needs for current and future co-responder workforce;
(d) Beginning in calendar year 2023, begin development of model training curricula for individuals participating in co-response teams; and
(e) Beginning in calendar year 2023, host an annual statewide conference that draws state and national co-responders.
(2) Stakeholders in the field of co-response may include, but are not limited to, the Washington association of designated crisis responders; state associations representing police, fire, and emergency medical services personnel; the Washington council on behavioral health; the state 911 system; 988 crisis call centers; and the peer workforce alliance.
(3)(a) By January 1, 2026, the University of Washington school of social work, in consultation with the authority and the behavioral health administrative services organizations, shall establish a program to administer a crisis responder training academy resulting in a certification in best practices in crisis response in three behavioral health administrative services organizations with a significant co-response footprint. The curriculum must include: Safety and crisis de-escalation tactics, teamwork across the disciplines including peer support workers, culturally responsive crisis care, suicide intervention, substance use disorder engagement, overdose response, and an eight-hour session with clinical staff of designated 988 contact hubs, crisis relief centers, crisis call centers, and employees of 911 public safety answering points, explaining best coordination strategies. Best practices for regional protocol development must be included.
(b) By January 1, 2027, the crisis responder training academy shall be expanded to all behavioral health administrative services organizations and provide openings for 988 rapid response teams, co-response teams, mobile community response teams, and alternative response teams. The behavioral health administrative services organizations shall promote the training academy available to local crisis responder and co-response teams in their regions. The certification shall be optional and may not serve as an additional requirement for licensure for crisis responders or licensed human services professionals.
[
2025 c 346 s 5
;
2022 c 232 s 2
.]
NOTES:
Findings
—
2025 c 346:
See note following RCW 71.24.025
.
Finding
—
Purpose
—
2022 c 232:
"The legislature finds that behavioral health co-response has experienced a surge in popularity in Washington state in the past five years. The legislature recognizes the importance of training for those involved in co-responder programs to promote high standards within programs and to enhance the skills of those already working in this field. The purpose of this act is to develop best practice recommendations and a model training curriculum relevant to first responders and behavioral health professionals working on co-response teams, to create ongoing learning opportunities for emerging and established co-response programs, and to develop the workforce to fill future co-responder hiring needs." [
2022 c 232 s 1
.]