SENATE BILL REPORT
SB 5644
As of January 13, 2022
Title: An act relating to providing quality behavioral health co-response services.
Brief Description: Concerning providing quality behavioral health co-response services
Sponsors: Senators Wagoner and Frockt.
Brief History:
Committee Activity: Health & Long Term Care: 1/12/22 [w/oRec-BH].
Behavioral Health Subcommittee to Health & Long Term Care: 1/14/22.
Brief Summary of Bill
  • Requires the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC) to partner with a statewide organization consisting of individuals working in co-response programs to establish professional development activities for co-response professionals, including a learning academy, four to six learning sites, and development of a certification program for co-response behavioral health professionals in collaboration with the Department of Health.
  • Requires WASPC to hire a co-response training coordinator to coordinate these activities.
  • Requires WASPC to deliver workforce development recommendations specific to co-response programs to the Governor and Legislature by June 30, 2023.
SENATE COMMITTEE ON BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SUBCOMMITTEE TO HEALTH & LONG TERM CARE
Staff: Kevin Black (786-7747)
Background:

Co-Response Programs.  A co-response program is a program in which non-law enforcement personnel, such as a mental health worker, responds alongside a police officer, fire fighter, or EMS worker, to the scene of an emergency or other situation that would traditionally be responded to solely by law enforcement.  The state of Washington has created grants to fund co-response programs, including $10 million for the 2021-2023 biennium for a Mental Health Field Response Team program administered by the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC).

 

Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs.  WASPC is an association founded in 1963 consisting of executive and top management personnel from law enforcement agencies statewide, combining local, state, tribal, and federal law enforcement in a single body.  The 1975 Legislature made WASPC a legal entity, designating the association as a "combination of units of local government."  WASPC administers a number of programs that receive state funding, including the 24/7 Sobriety Program, the Jail Booking and Reporting System, Officer Wellness Resources and Behavioral Health Support and Suicide Prevention Grant Program, and the aforementioned Mental Health Field Response Teams Program.

 

Co-Responder Outreach Alliance.  The Co-Responder Outreach Alliance (CROA) is a statewide organization of first responders, behavioral health professionals, and project managers working in co-response programs.  CROA was formed in 2018 by co-response teams in Bellevue and Everett.  Its governing board was created in 2021.
Summary of Bill:

Subject to funding, WASPC must partner with a statewide organization of first responders, behavioral health professionals, and project managers working in co-response programs to:

  • establish a co-responder learning academy in 2022, allowing individuals working in co-response to convene for training, networking, and sharing of best practices;
  • establish four to six learning sites where individuals interested in co-response can spend a day learning with an experienced co-response team;
  • partner with the Department of Health to develop a certification specific to behavioral health professionals working in the co-response field; and
  • report on progress and present workforce development recommendations specific to co-response programs to the Governor and Legislature by June 30, 2023.

 

The co-responder learning academy must include track offerings for different size jurisdictions, and for co-response programs based in police, fire, and emergency medical response.  The learning sites must have structured learning components and areas of instruction.

 

WASPC must hire a co-response training coordinator with consultation and consent from the statewide organization of first responders, behavioral health professionals, and project managers to coordinate these activities.  The coordinator must work closely with this organization and consult with a spectrum of co-response programs and other relevant entities such as the Washington State Fire Fighter's Association and the Department of Health.
Appropriation: None.
Fiscal Note: Requested on January 6, 2022.
Creates Committee/Commission/Task Force that includes Legislative members: No.
Effective Date: Ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.