Indian Behavioral Health Act SB 6259 implementation
The Health Care Authority (HCA) is supporting the implementation of Senate Bill (SB) 6259, the Washington Indian Behavioral Health Act, which passed in 2020.
We are working in partnership with Tribes and the American Indian Health Commission to:
- Develop an annual report on psychiatric treatment and evaluation bed utilization for American Indian (AI) and Alaska Natives (AN).
- Establish the tribal-designated crisis responder Washington Administrative Code (WAC).
- Educate and communicate changes to the behavioral health community on the changes to Chapter 71.05 Revised Code of Washington (RCW)
Resources
- Annual report: psychiatric treatment and evaluation bed utilization for AI/ANs (October 2021)
- Tribal-designated crisis responder WAC, effective January 2022Â
- Changes to Joel’s Law:
- Dear Tribal Leader Letter (August 2020)
- Joel's Law fact sheet
Contact
Email tribalaffairs@hca.wa.gov