Behavioral Health Administration

Latest News

 

BHA annual report

The 2022 DSHS BHA Annual Report highlights the work done by the Behavioral Health Administration throughout the year. This report gives an overview of the people we serve, what types of treatment we offer, and a look at some of our staff. In 2021, we began working to build new community treatment facilities to better help our patients' recovery and continued to find new ways to care for our patients throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. We also continued to enhance our Equity, Diversity, Access and Inclusion policies and to make clear efforts to become an anti-racist organization. 

The complementary 2022 BHA By the Numbers report tells the Behavioral Health Administration’s story through statistics.  While both reports are comprehensive, they only capture some of what we do and how we Transform Lives for residents throughout Washington.         

 

BHA Safe Start plan

The Behavioral Health Administration’s Safe Start plan aligns with Gov. Jay Inslee’s Healthy Washington-Roadmap to Recovery plan released in January 2021. To learn more about what phase a facility is in, and any facility-specific visitation guidelines, please view our Safe Start FAQs  If you have any questions, please email bhacommunications@dshs.wa.gov.

What We Do

The Department of Social and Health Services’ (DSHS) Behavioral Health Administration (BHA) transforms lives by supporting sustainable recovery, independence and wellness. We do this through funding and supporting effective prevention and intervention services for youth and families, and treatment and recovery support for youth and adults with addiction and mental health conditions (also known as behavioral health).  It operates three state psychiatric hospitals and the Office of Forensic Mental Health Services that deliver high-quality services to adults and children with complex needs:

Child Study and Treatment Center is Washington's state psychiatric hospital for children and youth up to the age of 18. The center engages families and community teams to participate in the psychiatric treatment and educational services, and to plan for these young clients’ successful return to their home community.

Eastern and Western state hospitals provide evaluations, competency restoration and inpatient psychiatric treatment for individuals with serious or long-term mental illness. The hospitals deliver evidence-based and effective inpatient treatment programs, interventions and activities that promote patient recovery. Our therapeutic approach is designed to empower patients, instilling hope, support, self-discovery and independence.

The Office of Forensic Mental Health Services is responsible for the management of Washington’s adult forensic mental health care system, providing competency evaluation and restoration services. Forensic mental health services and competency restoration are for adults involved in the criminal justice system.

The Special Commitment Center (SCC) provides specialized mental health treatment for civilly committed sex offenders who have completed their prison sentences. Superior Courts in the county in which an individual was previously convicted of a sex crime have the authority to determine if individuals meet the legal definition of a sexually violent predator and to civilly commit them to the SCC.

Strategic planning is a critical component of successful organizations. It defines the direction of the agency and is used to make decisions about how to best allocate resources to achieve desired outcomes. Strategic Plan 2021-2023(pdf).

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