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Thank you to those who joined and provided comments during our listening sessions in April 2024! Department of Health (DOH) staff reviewed all the comments, performed additional research where needed, and compiled a list of draft recommendations intended to improve the timelines to issue credentials and remove barriers to entering or remaining in the behavioral health workforce. You are invited to attend additional virtual sessions in late August to give us feedback on the draft recommendations. DOH will share the recommendations with the legislature this fall.
We are offering a day-time and evening session to accommodate different scheduling needs. Both sessions will have the same content. Pick the session that works best for you or attend both sessions. We will provide slides and materials for the webinar one week ahead of the sessions. You can register for the webinars at the links below:
If you cannot make it to the virtual feedback sessions, we would still like to hear from you. You can send comments to Brandon Williams, Project Manager, at 1724publiccomment@doh.wa.gov.
Why is DOH doing feedback sessions?
2SHB 1724 passed the Washington State Legislature in 2023. Section 5 of the bill requires DOH to identify changes to statutes and rules that would remove unnecessary barriers to entering or remaining in the behavioral health workforce. We hosted four listening sessions in April 2024 to gather comments from the public and identify credentialing barriers that are causing unnecessary hurdles or delays for applicants. We used the information gathered during these listening sessions to guide our research and the recommendations we have put together. These feedback sessions are a continuation of that conversation and an opportunity for department staff to hear your feedback on the recommendations and make any needed adjustments before presenting them to the legislature as required by 2SHB 1724.
What are the feedback sessions for?
These feedback sessions will help DOH determine if the proposed solutions are responsive to the barriers licensees, employers, and communities are experiencing, and where more work might be needed. Our goal is to have licensure requirements for the behavioral health workforce that are equitable, allow for timely credentialing, protect the safety of patients, and promote access to care.
Accessibility
Virtual feedback sessions will have American Sign Language, Spanish interpreters, CART, and auto-generated Closed Captioning. To request accommodations, contact Brandon Williams, Project Manager, at brandon.williams@doh.wa.gov.
Please make requests for additional interpreters at least two weeks in advance of the feedback session to allow us the time needed to secure the requested service. We will make every effort to secure services but may not be able to because of availability.
Help us get the word out
Help us get the word out about the feedback sessions. Please share this event with your community.
For questions or comments, email Brandon Williams, Project Manager, at 1724publiccomment@doh.wa.gov.
Where can I find more information about behavioral health implementation work?
The department has created a web page with information on the behavioral health related legislative implementation. Bills that we are working to implement are listed by bill number and title, and you can expand each one for more details on that work. This page also has links to recordings of our 2023 listening and feedback sessions, and our 2024 listening sessions in English, Spanish, and American Sign Language. Closed captioning is also available on all of our recorded sessions. You can also find all the listening session recordings on the Department of Health YouTube page.
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