S-3844.1
SENATE BILL 6050
State of Washington 68th Legislature 2024 Regular Session
By Senators Dhingra, Warnick, Hasegawa, Kuderer, Lovelett, Lovick,
Nguyen, Randall, Saldaña, Trudeau, Valdez, and C. Wilson
Read first time 01/09/24. Referred to Committee on Human Services.
1 AN ACT Relating to supporting young adults following inpatient
2 behavioral health treatment; adding a new section to chapter 74.09
3 RCW; and creating a new section.
4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
5 NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) The legislature has committed to and
6 invested in ensuring that young people exiting the system of care do
7 so with safe housing and developmentally responsive services through
8 the enactment of Substitute Senate Bill No. 6560 (2018) and Second
9 Substitute House Bill No. 1905 (2022).
10 (2) The legislature finds that young people who exit behavioral
11 health inpatient treatment are the largest group of people who become
12 homeless within three to 12 months of all the young people who exit
13 any publicly funded system of care, as identified in a 2023 report
14 produced by the research and data analysis division of the department
15 of social and health services.
16 (3) The legislature has invested significant funding in the
17 behavioral health system and finds that ensuring a person's safe
18 return to the community postinpatient treatment is a high priority
19 and a major opportunity to end their experience with homelessness. In
20 addition, the legislature finds that a young person who enters
21 treatment demonstrates the courage to engage in their personal health
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 1 and creates the opportunity for family and community reunification,
2 career development, and a full life.
3 (4) The legislature further finds that it often takes more time
4 and resources than expected during a person's inpatient treatment
5 episode to identify a return to community plan that includes long-
6 term, safe housing and a developmentally and culturally responsive
7 support system that includes relationships, services, and passions.
8 (5) For these reasons, the legislature finds that having an
9 interim housing option that provides a safe and soft landing
10 postinpatient treatment, located on each side of the state, that has
11 well-trained staff and peers who have behavioral health expertise, is
12 a sound investment in our young people and our collective goals to
13 prevent and end homelessness.
14 NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 74.09
15 RCW to read as follows:
16 (1) Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this
17 specific purpose, the postinpatient housing program for young adults
18 is established to provide supportive transitional housing with
19 behavioral health support focused on securing long-term housing for
20 young adults exiting inpatient behavioral health treatment.
21 (2) To be eligible for the postinpatient housing program for
22 young adults created under this section, a person must:
23 (a) Be 18 through 24 years of age;
24 (b)(i) Be exiting inpatient behavioral health treatment; or
25 (ii) Have exited inpatient behavioral health treatment within the
26 last month and be engaged in a recovery plan; and
27 (c) Not have secured long-term housing.
28 (3) Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this
29 specific purpose and to fulfill the requirements of this section, the
30 authority shall:
31 (a) Provide funding to a community-based organization or
32 organizations with expertise in working with young people
33 experiencing unaccompanied homelessness, behavioral health
34 conditions, or both, to operate a residential program or programs as
35 described in this subsection (3)(a). The organization selected to
36 operate a residential program or programs in this subsection (3)(a)
37 may choose whether or not to serve individuals eligible according to
38 the criteria established in subsection (2) of this section. In
39 addition, the authority shall consult with a transition support
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 1 provider when soliciting and selecting a community-based organization
2 or organizations under this subsection. The funding provided under
3 this subsection must be used to:
4 (i) Establish at least two residential programs with six to 10
5 beds with one program on either side of the Cascade mountain range;
6 (ii) Establish a developmentally and culturally responsive
7 environment that values healing and recovery;
8 (iii) Engage peers with behavioral health experience in the
9 support and recovery of individuals served by the program;
10 (iv) Serve individuals determined eligible according to the
11 criteria established in subsection (2) of this section for up to 90
12 days; and
13 (v) Support and strengthen the ongoing healing and learning that
14 occurred for those served by the program during their inpatient
15 treatment;
16 (b) Provide additional funding to the transition support provider
17 for:
18 (i) Consultation and training services to the residential program
19 or programs selected under (a) of this subsection;
20 (ii) Return-to-community planning for the individuals served by
21 the residential programs described under (a) of this subsection; and
22 (iii) To the extent possible, making contact with individuals
23 served by the residential programs described under (a) of this
24 subsection at regular intervals after those individuals leave the
25 residential program and reporting this information to the authority;
26 (c) Provide flexible funding to support individuals served by the
27 residential programs described under (a) of this subsection. The
28 flexible funding provided under this subsection may be provided to
29 support the immediate needs of the individual. Uses of the flexible
30 funding provided under this subsection may include, but are not
31 limited to, the following:
32 (i) Car repair or other transportation assistance;
33 (ii) Rental application fees, a security deposit, or short-term
34 rental assistance; or
35 (iii) Other uses that will help support the person's housing
36 stability, education, or employment, or meet immediate basic needs;
37 and
38 (d) Provide funding to contract with individuals or entities that
39 provide behavioral health support to individuals determined eligible
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 1 according to the criteria established in subsection (2) of this
2 section, which may include, but are not limited to:
3 (i) On-site and community-based behavioral health supports;
4 (ii) Peer supports; and
5 (iii) Medication management.
6 (4) For purposes of this section, "transition support provider"
7 means a community-based organization selected by the authority that
8 continues to:
9 (a) Provide information and support services related to safe
10 housing and support services for youth exiting inpatient behavioral
11 health treatment; and
12 (b) Organize a coalition of community housing providers,
13 inpatient behavioral health discharge planners, and young people with
14 lived experience of behavioral health conditions or unaccompanied
15 homelessness.
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