Pierce Co. plans to spend $30 million on mental health. Here’s where that money is going
In December 2020, the Pierce County Council passed a one-tenth of 1% sales tax to fund behavioral health and therapeutic court programs within Pierce County, including mental health and substance abuse disorder treatment.
On Tuesday, Aug. 22, the council approved the Human Services Department and Behavioral Health Advisory Board’s recommendations for how that funding should be spent in the 2024-2025 calendar years, around $30 million in total. Five members of the council voted in favor, none voted against and two members were excused from voting.
Council chair Ryan Mello thanked the advisory board for its time and expertise in vetting the list.
“I’m really hopeful about those investments and what movement we can make in the behavioral health workforce challenge and the millions of dollars we’re putting out the door for communities all across Pierce County — in schools and in permanent supportive housing sites and communities all across the county — to get these kinds of really critical resources,” Mello said.
Of the 28 programs recommended for funding, the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department will receive the most funding – about $3.8 million for its crisis response team.
The Behavioral Health Advisory Board recommended $29,998,250 be spent in all, according to county documents. A vast majority of the funding will come from the behavioral health tax and $522,000 will come from the county liquor tax revenue, said Pierce County policy analyst LeighBeth Merrick at the council meeting.
Most of the funding is going toward crisis and inpatient services, outpatient and community-based services, rural behavioral health, community education prevention and early intervention, as well as services offered to children/youth or families/parents, according to the funding recommendations. You can find a full list of the programs and their funding online.
Despite these investments, need remains. When the Human Services Department opened up proposals for this funding, the department received 60 proposals to fund substance abuse disorder and mental health treatment programs in the county, requesting over $63 million in total funding, according to the council agenda.
Which programs are receiving the most funding?
The Pierce County Sheriff’s Department will receive $3.78 million for its Pierce County Co-Responder Program, which embeds mental health professionals with law enforcement when responding to 911 calls for people in a behavioral health crisis. It is proposed to serve 3,200 people and provide eight designated crisis responders, contracted from MultiCare’s Behavioral Health division. Funding will continue operating the program at its current staffing levels, according to the council agenda.
Comprehensive Life Resources will receive a little more than $3 million for its School Connect Program, which provides outpatient behavioral health treatment and navigation services to youth in the Puyallup School District, Peninsula School District, Orting School District and White River School District. It is proposed to serve 950 individuals, according to county documents.
Seneca Family of Agencies will receive $3 million for its Wraparound with Intensive Services program, outpatient services and therapeutic case management services offered to high-risk youth and families in Pierce County, especially multi-stressed families who are uninsured or underinsured, according to the county.
Not-for-profit health care organization Greater Lakes Mental Healthcare will receive $2.1 million for its Jail Diversion team services, assisting individuals with mental health or substance abuse disorders who have committed a non-violent felony to participate in treatment and rehabilitation. Full engagement in their “rigorous” program can result in lower or dropped charges, according to county documents. It is expected to serve 40 people. The goals of the program are to assist jailed clients in transitioning into services in the community and prevent people “who are likely to require competency restoration” from entering jail in the first place, according to the organization’s website.
WorkForce Central will receive about $2 million for establishing a county behavioral health association focused on recruiting, training and retaining a diverse and high-quality behavioral health workforce to meet the growing needs of adults, youth and children in Pierce County, according to the county. Funding will include workforce training for 150 people, 20 apprenticeships and 200 interns.
This story was originally published August 23, 2023 at 10:00 AM.
