Politics & Government
Pierce County Passes Behavioral Health Tax: What To Know
The ordinance adds a sales tax of one tenth of a percent. Here's how that money will be spent.
PIERCE COUNTY, WA β It's been a process years in the making, but the Pierce County Council has finally approved a sales tax to support new behavioral health services.
The opioid epidemic, growing homelessness crisis and other inequities have supporters saying that old methods of treating behavioral health just aren't cutting it anymore. That's particularly true for Pierce County, whose behavioral health needs outpace much of the rest of the state. For years, local lawmakers been lobbying for a new tax to expand the county's mental and behavioral health services. Now, it's really going to happen.
Starting July, there will be an additional sales tax of 0.1%. Here are the programs that tenth of a percent tax will finance:
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- A Mobile Community Intervention Response Team, a team of first responders who will provide a countywide response to behavioral health crises.
- Intensive Services for Youth, three teams who will provide behavioral health services to children and young adults under 21.
- Expanded Behavioral Health Services in Underserved School Districts, which will fund mental health care managers in several underserved districts.
- Crisis Services for Adults, expanding crisis intervention and crisis residential services.
- Assisted Outpatient Treatment, so those in need of help don't have to use expensive inpatient crisis services.
- Recovery Housing Assistance, funding counseling, short-term housing and other support systems for mentally ill individuals experiencing homelessness.
- Behavioral Health Services for Veterans, expanding the programs provided by the Cohen Military Family Clinic in Lakewood.
- Criminal Justice Diversion Services, a program to help the mentally ill by diverting them away from the criminal justice system and into treatment.
According to the ordinance, most of these programs will save money and time for other emergency programs by cutting down on first responder service hours, reducing involuntary hospitalizations and lowering the use of emergency rooms in hospitals.
Getting the tax passed has been a challenge for the county. Officials knew that Pierce County had greater behavioral health needs than the rest of Washington state back in 2016, and several similar behavioral health taxes have been proposed in the years since, but all have failed until now.
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Even this current iteration floundered slightly. Back in December the Pierce County Council passed Ordinance No. 2021-23 on a 6 -1 vote. However, as the Tacoma News Tribune explains, that ordinance required state approval to restructure the county's Medicaid system β meaning that, despite passing the council, it's path forward was unclear.
That is until Monday night, when the county passed an amendment to sidestep the restructuring process, allowing the tax to go into effect.
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