2024 Washington Thriving Progress Report
The Children and Youth Behavioral Health Work Group (CYBHWG) recently provided a progress report on Washington Thriving to the Legislature (Part 2 of the CYBHWG's annual report). This report is available here. This document is designed to provide updates on the work that has been done for Washington Thriving over the last year and share insight into the work to be completed over the next year in preparation for the final Prenatal through 25 Behavioral Health Strategic Plan.
The introductory letter from co-chairs of the Washington Thriving Advisory Group – Washington State 5th Legislative District Representative Lisa Callan and Diana Cockrell of the Health Care Authority – summarizes the tremendous effort to date and where we’re headed in the coming year:
“Washington Thriving aims to effect transformational change in behavioral healthcare for children and families by engaging diverse constituents from across the state. Together, we are envisioning a future ideal system, considering local and national evidence and best practices, building shared muscle among the many actors that need to coordinate and collaborate to realize such a system, and laying out an actionable roadmap to move toward that vision.
This year, we gained significant momentum. Numerous contributors aligned on a future vision for the behavioral health system. Multiple state agencies have helped identify necessary data points and are collaborating to source this data so that it can be aggregated and analyzed. Input resulting from community insights, issue-specific research, and other engagement activities are leading us to the recommendations that will ultimately make up the P-25 Strategic Plan. Recommendations generated by four “discovery sprints” are being elevated to key policy leaders and philanthropists to build momentum in advance of implementation.
A consistent theme reiterated by everyone consulted is that the fragmentation of the current system is a barrier to children, youth, young adults, and their parents and caregivers accessing and engaging with behavioral health services in a way that leads to meaningful outcomes. We can confidently say that facilitating coordination and collaboration across the agencies and other actors serving our youth will be a central recommendation of the Strategic Plan.
We are grateful to the youth and young adults, parents and caregivers, and professionals from across the behavioral health system who contributed in 2024 as members of the Washington Thriving Advisory Group. These individuals have represented the needs of Washingtonians and are shaping the future of the behavioral health system in our state. We would also like to thank the many other contributors who have participated in Discussion Groups, shared their views in community listening sessions, provided interviews, attended meetings, and offered input in other ways over the past year.
We appreciate your support for Washington Thriving and look forward to continuing the work of building a behavioral health system in the State of Washington that can deliver high-quality, equitable, developmentally appropriate supports and services that look and feel like help from the perspective of families, caregivers, youth and young adults, and children.”
As always, please contact us with any thoughts or feedback at info@washingtonthriving.org