Prenatal, child, and young adult behavioral health services
Behavioral health (mental health, substance use disorder (SUD), and problem gambling) services are available to children, youth, and young people from birth through age 25 and their families. This page will help you learn how to pay for and get services. Youth ages 13 and older can get behavioral health services without prior consent from a parent, guardian, or a family member.Â
Does your child or young person need immediate help?
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For a life-threatening emergency: Call 911.
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For suicide prevention: Contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 (TRS: 1-800-799-4889).
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For 24-hour emotional support and referrals: Contact the Washington Recovery Help Line or the crisis line in your area.
On this page
Do you want to receive announcements about prenatal, child, and young adult behavioral health?
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.
Prenatal through 25 legislative webinar series
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.
The P-25 team is gathering feedback from attendees to improve the overall experience of the webinar series. The survey will be available January 3rd through March 15th. Access the survey
View the 2023 overview and schedule.
Upcoming meetings
Date | Topics | Location, call-in information, meeting materials |
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May 15, 2023 2:05Â to 3 p.m. |
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Email: Jennifer.Peterson@hca.wa.gov for details. |
June 26, 2023 2:05Â to 3 p.m. |
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Email: Jennifer.Peterson@hca.wa.gov for details. |
July 17, 2023 2:05Â to 3 p.m. |
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Email: Jennifer.Peterson@hca.wa.gov for details. |
August 21, 2023 2:05Â to 3 p.m. |
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Email: Jennifer.Peterson@hca.wa.gov for details. |
September 18, 2023 2:05Â to 3 p.m. |
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Email: Jennifer.Peterson@hca.wa.gov for details. |
October 16, 2023 2:05Â to 3 p.m. |
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Email: Jennifer.Peterson@hca.wa.gov for details. |
November 13, 2023 2:05Â to 3 p.m. |
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Email: Jennifer.Peterson@hca.wa.gov for details. |
December 11, 2023 2:05Â to 3 p.m. |
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Email: Jennifer.Peterson@hca.wa.gov for details. |
Prior meetingsÂ
Date | Topics | Location, call-in information, meeting materials |
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Monday, October 17 2:05Â to 3 p.m. |
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Monday, 21 November 2:05 to 3 p.m. |
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Monday, 19 December 2:05 to 3Â p.m. |
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Learn more about prenatal, child, and young adult services
Explore the following resources for behavioral health services in Washington State.
- Services and programs
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- 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
- Reimagining access, Co-designing treatment policy with youth and their communities
- Review of Behavioral Health Respite options
- Collaborations, round tables, and workgroups
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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.
Contact
Diana Cockrell
Email:Â Diana.Cockrell@hca.wa.gov