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The Apple Health DC:0-5™ Crosswalk has been updated for 2026, effective January 1, 2026. Read the announcement to see what has changed, and what steps you need to take.
Want to know what has HCA is up to around infant-early childhood mental health (IECMH)? Read the 2026 IECMH at HCA brief to learn more about IECMH efforts over the past year, as well as our next steps for this coming year.
There are new ways to dive into the DC:0-5! Whether you have taken the DC:0-5 Clinical training or not, there are opportunities for you. Trainings, communities of practice, and focus groups facilitated by national experts and Washington state leaders are all at no cost for Apple Health providers. Jump to the Events section of the newsletter to register today.
The Barnard Center is accepting Expression of Interest applications for the next Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP) Learning Collaborative until Friday, February 13th. Providers enrolled with Apple Health (Medicaid) are eligible for discounted training fees, and providers from the Great Rivers, Greater Columbia, and Thurston-Mason regions are greatly encouraged to apply.
The Infant Early Childhood Mental Health Workforce Collaborative (IECMH WC) is a professional development initiative to support mental health assessment and diagnosis best practices for young children enrolled in Apple Health (Medicaid), including DC:0-5™ training. The most recent IECMH WC annual report provides an overview of program accomplishments and lessons learned during State Fiscal Year 2025 (June 2024 – July 2025).
Behavioral Health Administrative Services Organizations (BH-ASO) provide services that help clients navigate through mental health or substance use disorder (SUD) treatment services when needed. BH-ASOs are funded through state and federal block grant funding. Some of the things BH-ASOs provide include:
- Crisis services to all Washington residents, regardless of their insurance status or income level
- Certain behavioral services for people not enrolled in or eligible for Apple Health
- Administrative functions like the behavioral health ombudsman and the Family Youth System Partner Round Table (FYSPT)
BH-ASO contracts outline the administrative systems that BH-ASOs should reference as best practice. Effective January 1, 2026, these contracts were updated to include the DC:0-5™, alongside the DSM (the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders). This change helps support alignment across behavioral health systems, as well as adoption of IECMH best practices.
A new legislative report describes the results of the Community Health Worker (CHW) grant from July 1, 2023, through December 30, 2024. The grant program supported CHW services provided to patients and their families through primary care clinics. This included Early Relational Health (ERH) CHWs serving children from birth to age five and their families and caregivers. The report highlights important outcomes, as well as challenges. With the transition to the Apple Health CHW benefit in July 2025, these lessons are now directly informing implementation.
HCA is making improvements to the First Steps MSS program as required in RCW 74.09.839. Effective for claims with dates of service on or after January 1, 2026, changes include:
- MSS rates will increase by $10 per unit
- Allowable units will increase per MSS eligibility period
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