(The Center Square) – King County is utilizing $16.8 million to boost the region’s behavioral health workforce.
King County Executive Dow Constantine announced the $16.8 million in awards on Tuesday, saying that it is the county’s largest investment in the behavioral health workforce.
Out of the $16.8 million, $12 million is being awarded to 37 agencies that provide behavioral health support.
The other $4.8 million will go toward the expansion of the SEIU Training Fund’s apprenticeship program, which focuses on increasing the number of behavioral health technicians and substance use disorder professionals. The apprenticeship program currently has nearly 100 apprentices enrolled.
The King County Department of Community and Human Services listed behavioral health workforce development as one of its top priorities.
The funding comes from the voter-approved $1.3 billion Crisis Care Centers Levy. The levy costs property owners 15 cents per $1,000 in assessed value, meaning an average King County homeowner pays approximately $127 toward the levy.
According to a press release, the levy will spend more than $160 million over nine years toward the behavioral health workforce.
Constantine said King County is focusing on the behavioral health workforce because the industry is lacking efficient staffing levels amid a worsening regional mental health crisis.
“Everyone working in behavioral health — crisis responders, outreach teams, peer specialists, mental health professionals, and many more — has been diligently caring for the rising number of people who need help, while simultaneously facing a workforce crisis,” Constantine said in a statement.
Ryther is one of the awarded agencies that will use the new funding to ensure retention of its behavioral health training staff. According to the health provider, the funding will help ensure its supervising staff receive stipends for training its masters-level interns.
“Knowing how demanding this work can be, it has been a priority at Ryther to increase support for our staff members,” Ryther CEO Karen Brady said. “However, with limited dollars, we have not been able to do as much as we would like for our deserving employees.”