HB 1876: Concerning children’s mental health

HB 1876 emphasizes the need to implement the policies reviewed and recommended by the Children’s Mental Health Work Group. The legislature acknowledges a workforce shortage of behavioral health professionals and a need to increase the cultural and linguistic diversity among these health professionals. This act implement the recommendations adopted by the work group in January 2019 to improve mental health access for children and their families.

This act adds a new section to RCW chapter 28A.310 that includes the requirements for each educational service district to provide schools, including:

• support for school district development and implementation of plans for responses to emotional and/or behavioral distress in students;
• facilitating partnerships and coordination between school districts and local systems of behavioral health care services in order to increase access;
• Identifying, sharing, and integrating, to the extent practicable, behavioral and physical health care service delivery models;
• Providing medicaid billing related training, technical assistance, and coordination between school districts; and
• guidance in implementing best practices in response and recovery to suicide and/or attempted suicide.

Section 3 establishes that the Health Care Authority (HCA), the UW Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Seattle Children’s Hospital, and OSPI must develop a plan to implement a two-year pilot program for schools called “The Partnership Access Line for Schools.” The program must be implemented by January 1^st, 2020, and support two educational service districts.

The program must:

• develop a general behavioral health support curriculum;
• deliver behavioral health trainings;
• provide school staff who participated in said trainings access to telephone consultations with mental health professionals; and
• provide timely crisis management appointments.

The HCA shall submit a report describing the services delivered and recommendations by December 1, 2022.

A new section is added to RCW chapter 28A.415 requiring school districts to use one of the professional learning days to train staff in mental health first aid, suicide prevention,social-emotional learning, trauma-informed care, and anti-bullying strategies beginning in the 2019-20 school year. RCW chapter 28A.300 also includes a new section establishing that the OSPI shall provide mental health literacy and healthy relationship instructional materials for school districts.

RCW chapter 28B.20 will have a new section which specifies that the UW shall establish certificate programs in evidence-based practices for behavioral health care professionals in order to treat adolescents and young adults with mental health disorders. The HCA shall also collaborate with the UW and a professional association of licensed community behavioral health agencies to develop a statewide plan to implement evidence-based coordinated care programs by March 1^st, 2020.

HB1876 directs the child and adolescent psychiatry residency programs at the UW and WSU to offer an additional residency position for medical students specializing in child and adolescent psychiatry.

The bill also directs the health care authority to collaborate with the UW and a professional association of licensed community behavioral health agencies to develop a statewide plan to implement evidence based coordinated specialty care programs that provide early identification and intervention for psychosis in licensed and certified community behavioral health agencies.  The plan is due to the legislature and governor by March 1, 2020.

The bill further directs the UW to convene a work group of educators and researchers to develop a statewide multi-tiered system of school supports that includes academic, social-emotional, and behavioral supports.  The bill delineates the organizations that need to be included and states that the findings and recommendations must be submitted to the legislature and governor by Nov. 1, 2020.

Additionally, RCW 43.216.745 is amended to include subsection (2)(a)(b)(c) which specify that the DCYF must develop an infant and early childhood mental health consultation model for children ages birth-5 and provide the model by November 1^st, 2019. This model must be culturally competent and thus requires consultation with public and private partners. Further, DCYF must phase in service delivery in at least 2 regions by July 1^st, 2020, and provide full statewide implementation by December 31^st, 2023.

Finally, the bill directs the health care authority to provide an online training for behavioral health providers regarding state law and best practices when providing behavioral health services to children, youth and families.  The training must be free and include information related to parent-initiated treatment, minor initiated treatment, and other treatment services under this chapter.  It also requires the health care authority to conduct an annual survey of parents, youth, and behavioral health providers to measure the impacts of implementing policies resulting from the enactment of the parent initiated treatment law.

Amendment:

Updated 2/26/19:

• Removed responsibilities related to behavioral health coordination for ESDs;
• Removed the requirement for school districts to use a professional learning day to train district staff in mental health first aid, suicide prevention, social-emotional learning, trauma-informed care, and anti-bullying strategies
• Removed the requirement for the OSPI to provide mental health literacy and healthy relationships instructional materials to school districts;
• Removed the establishment of UW certificate programs in evidence-based practices for behavioral health;
• Removed the requirement for the UW to convene a work group developing a statewide multi-tiered system of school supports;
• Modified the child and adolescent psychiatry residencies at the UW and WSU to require the positions to include a minimum of 18 months of supervised training rather than 12 months;
• Requires, subject to available funds, the HCA to ensure at least one CSC team is starting up or in operation in each RSA by October 1, 2020, and that each RSA has an adequate number of CSC teams based on incidence and population across the state by December 31, 2023;
• Renamed the DCYF child care consultation program as an IECMHC program;
• Replaced the “term child care provider” with “early learning provider” in reference to the IECMHC program; and
• Modified the IECMHC program to clarify the IECMHC model is to apply to children birth “through” age 5 rather than “to” age 5, requires the model to be culturally responsive, and requires the DCYF to begin implementation in two regions by July 1, 2020, rather than providing the model in two regions by that date.