Washington State Counties Respond to 5763

July 11, 2008

So far, eight of 39 Washington State counties have taken advantage of a new state law that provides counties with an option for funding mental health and chemical dependency services, according to a recent report from the Washington Institute for Mental Health Research and Training in Spokane (WIMHRT East), Implementing E2SSB-5763 in Washington State Counties.

Counties adopting the new funding strategy, which calls for an increase in the sales tax of 0.1 percent, were Clallam, Clark, Island, Jefferson, King, Okanogan, Skagit and Spokane.
Another five counties are currently considering passing the tax. They are Lewis, San Juan, Snohomish, Whatcom and Yakima.

"The need for and benefit of mental health and chemical dependency treatment substantially contributed to passage of the measure," says Anne Strode, a research associate with WIMHRT East. Strode authored the report.

"The predominant challenge for proponents of this funding option has been compiling the data to illustrate the cost benefit to the public and county commissioners. They need to show how the tax would allow the service delivery system to more adequately serve those in need, and ultimately lead to cost savings."

Projected revenues for counties that passed the sales tax option ranged from $250,000 in Okanogan County to $48 million in King County. Planned services included alternative courts and an array of mental health and chemical dependency treatment options.

According to the report, county representatives saw the funding strategy as a way to augment federal and state money.

Increasing numbers of people have become homeless, and psychiatric inpatient hospitalization rates have exceeded projections in many areas of the state. Regional Support Networks have been penalized for using too many hospital bed days because they were not able to treat people locally. Increasing numbers of people have also ended up in jail and local hospital emergency rooms as a consequence of their illnesses.

The report details how counties passing the sales tax provision successfully provided adequate data to document their needs and win wide public support. Active stakeholders helped educate the public and local governmental boards.

In most cases, public hearings were held in lieu of an actual public vote. Six of the eight counties passing the sales tax did so directly through their County Boards of Commissioners. King County adopted the measure by vote of the County Council. Spokane County put the measure on the ballot.

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