Where We Are Now
How our system currently serves people who are pregnant, children, youth, and young adults to age 25, and what it will take to build a reliable, equitable continuum of care.
Responding to the Moment
Changes in the federal funding landscape for programs serving children, youth, and families are undermining Washingtonians’ well-being and will have dire consequences for our most vulnerable populations.
Current circumstances demand that we assess what is most important to Washington’s well-being and act strategically to build a more resilient system.
Snapshot: Today at a Glance
Demand vs. capacity
Demand is rising while capacity and workforce lag, especially outside urban centers and for populations with the most pressing service gaps.
Uneven entry
Young people & families face complex entry points and uneven quality for arbitrary reasons outside of their control.
Fragmentation
Silos across geographies, agencies, services, and funding sources make it hard for anyone to get what they need.
Data friction
Data systems do not fully inform day-to-day decisions or follow young people across settings.
Fragile transitions
Key transitions are vulnerable: early childhood to school, middle to high school, youth to adult systems.
Coordination works
Where access & coordination services are funded and integrated, people connect faster & get better outcomes.
What Washingtonians Tell Us
Young people and families
- Have to navigate multiple agencies and programs when seeking care
- Asked to recount traumatic stories repeatedly
- Often must wait months or years to access care
- Available services don’t fit actual needs
Providers
- Spend more time on paperwork than with clients
- Experience high rates of burnout due to inflated caseloads
- Struggle to navigate training and certification requirements
- Do not get paid enough or receive support to sustain their career
State and local agencies
- Must navigate complex and conflicting policies and rules that obstruct collaboration and information sharing
- Find data trapped in separate systems preventing leaders from seeing how the system is performing
- Constantly juggle new mandates with limited resources
Bright Spots
A “bright spot” is an example—program, practice, partnership—where positive outcomes are already happening. Bright spots are proof that progress is possible and provide models that others can learn from.
Washington’s community-led approach to behavioral health earns national recognition for setting a new standard in prevention excellence.
KMHWA unites agencies and communities to give youth seamless access to behavioral health care across systems and funding sources.
A rapid response team helps youth with complex needs find timely, individualized care through cross-agency collaboration.
WSCC empowers families to shape Washington’s behavioral health system through peer support, advocacy, and lived-experience leadership.
Across Washington, tribal nations are leading innovative, culturally grounded approaches to behavioral health.
From rural schools to countywide coalitions, CoLab and SMART Center are advancing community-driven, evidence-based approaches that strengthen youth behavioral health.
The HIE connects providers and public agencies through secure, real-time data sharing that strengthens care coordination and public health.
Washington’s YYAHRT ensures no young person leaves foster care, treatment, or justice systems without stable housing and support.
This program funds grassroots groups that strengthen youth mental health through connection, creativity, and community leadership.
Seattle Children’s now offers same-day psychiatric urgent care—both in person and via telehealth—for kids and teens statewide who need timely mental health support.
The IRC offers teens in recovery a supportive, sober school environment where they can heal, learn, and build lasting futures.
FRCs create welcoming, no-cost spaces where Washington families connect, access support, and build the sense of belonging that strengthens communities.
Tackling youth loneliness statewide by helping schools and communities spark intentional connection through youth-led programs and actions.
Helps prevent young people leaving behavioral health care from becoming homeless, offering recovery housing and support through community partnerships statewide.
Elevates family voices in system design, turning lived experience into leadership that drives lasting change.
What It Will Take
Warm, relational, coordinated entry and transition experiences
- A funded continuum that fills the gaps in a comprehensive array of services and supports
- A stable, supported, diverse workforce with fair pay and growth opportunity
Shared outcomes and practical indicators for accountability toward shared goals
- Financing, leadership, and governance that reward coordination and equity
Move to action
Explore the foundational dimensions to understand what’s needed.
