Prenatal, child, and young adult behavioral health services

How do I find services for a child or young person?

• Contact Washington's Mental Health Referral Service for Children and Teens. This service is available to all Washington families with children age 17 and younger whether they are enrolled in Apple Health or not. This free, telephone-based referral service connects children and teens with evidence-supported outpatient mental health services in their community.
  • Families can call 1-833-303-5437, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific time, to connect with a referral specialist.
• Visit The Center of Parent Excellence (COPE) Project to find support.
• Call your insurance provider using the phone number on the back of your insurance card.
• Enroll in Washington Apple Health (Medicaid).
• Learn more about Medicaid-funded school-based health care services and supports.
• Support services for youth and young adults: Fentanyl and Opioids

How much do services cost?

There is no cost for services provided to families enrolled in Apple Health. Reduced fees are available for eligible families enrolled in a Washington health plan.

Other health plans offer different premiums and fees for services. Some services at community agencies are provided on a sliding-fee scale.

Private health insurance plans are managed by the Office of Insurance Commissioner. Please contact their office for questions or concerns. Online and printed telephone directories have lists of counselors and behavioral health agencies in the counseling section or community services pages.

Meetings

The Prenatal through 25 team has established a series of legislative implementation status meetings with Q&A beginning October 2022.  The status meetings will outline the bill language, how teams are implementing the work, estimated timelines, and the current process/progress to date.

2022-23 Overview and schedule

Learn more about prenatal, child, and young adult services

Explore the following resources for behavioral health services in Washington State.

Services and programs

• Children's Long-term Mental Health Inpatient Program
• First Episode Psychosis Program and Early Psychosis Initiative
• System of care (SOC) grant
• Family initiated treatment (FIT)
• Wraparound with Intensive Services (WISe)
• Youth substance use services
• Healthy Transitions grant
• Family Youth System partner round tables
• Washington State Children's Behavioral Health Statewide Family Network
• Statewide Youth Leadership Network
• Residential Crisis Stabilization Program (beginning 2024)
• Fentanyl and Opioids

Collaborations, round tables, and workgroups

Collaborations, round tables, and work groups provide guidance, direction, and oversight.

• Family Youth and System Partner Round Tables (FYSPRTs)
• Children and Youth Behavioral Health Work Group (CYBHWG)
• Family Peer Network: Washington State Community Connectors

No shame in your brain campaign

HCA launched a new mental health promotion campaign entitled "No Shame in Your Brain" directed towards youth ages 13-18. The campaign promotes easy-to-access resources by text or phone for youth who want to connect and talk with someone. The campaign focuses on socializing mental health as a positive concept and celebrates the unique qualities of teens.

You can learn more about the campaign by reading the no shame in your brain toolkit.

Medicaid school-based behavioral health services and billing toolkit

The Medicaid school-based behavioral health services and billing toolkit is a resource intended for school districts and educational service districts. The toolkit includes information about:

• Different Medicaid funding options available to local education agencies.
• Information on how to become licensed as a behavioral health agency (BHA) with the Department of Health.
• Examples of Medicaid-covered behavioral health services, behavioral health resources and supports for schools. 
• Best practices for working with and contracting with the Medicaid managed care organizations in order to receive Medicaid reimbursement for behavioral health services provided to K-12 students.

View the toolkit.