1580 legislation creates escalation mechanism to support children in crisis

Washington State Health Care Authority sent this bulletin at 04/24/2024 10:00 AM PDT

April 24, 2024

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Supporting children aged 17 and younger who are in crisis

An escalation mechanism to support children aged 17 and younger who are in crisis has been created. The population of focus includes those either at risk of remaining or staying in a hospital without medical necessity and without the ability to return to the care of a parent or are a dependent of Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) under chapter 13.34 RCW, experiencing placement instability, and referred by DCYF.

Referrals and care coordination

Referrals may be received by many different sources, including a child in crisis, a family of the child, advocate, educator, law enforcement officer, DCYF, Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS)/Developmental Disabilities Administration (DDA), Health Care Authority (HCA) employee, service provider contracted through DCYF or DSHS/DDA, Managed Care Organization representative, inpatient navigator team, or a health care provider.

The usual care coordination structures and processes will continue, and referrals can be submitted through June 2025 to escalate the situation if the usual workflow is not successful, and barriers remain for the population served by this bill.

View the 1580 Children in Crisis FAQ

Next steps

The Governor’s Office, in coordination with DCYF, HCA, Office of Financial Management, and DSHS/DDA are in the process of developing and implementing a 1580 team for the purpose of supporting and identifying appropriate services and living arrangements for a child in crisis, and that child's family, if appropriate. This process includes the onboarding of the Children and Youth Multisystem Care Project Director who will be housed within the Governor’s Policy Office. The Governor’s policy office is supporting the functions of this position until it is fully established

The 1580 team will gather data and outcomes from referrals to support the development of the final report with recommendations to the legislature by the Governor’s office, which is due by November 1, 2024.

Email the 1580 Team

About the Health Care Authority (HCA)

Functioning as both the state's largest health care purchaser and its behavioral health authority, the Washington State Health Care Authority (HCA) is a leader in ensuring Washington residents have the opportunity to be as healthy as possible.

There are three pillars of our work: Apple Health (Medicaid); the Public Employees Benefits Board (PEBB) and School Employees Benefits Board (SEBB) programs; and behavioral health and recovery. Under these pillars, HCA purchases health care, including behavioral health treatment for more than 2.7 million Washington residents and provides behavioral health prevention, crisis, and recovery supports to all Washington residents.

Please do not reply directly to this message. For more information, visit the HCA website, where you'll also find contact information.

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