Spokane County warns of fiscal uncertainty, pushes ahead on crisis-relief and sobering center plan

Justin, a Spokane County community behavioral-health official, told the board that state and federal budget uncertainty is likely to affect behavioral-health funding and that the county had returned $10,000,000 to the state in a recent action.

‘‘We did have to return $10,000,000 back to the state. They did end up taking all of that back,’’ Justin said, describing a budget shortfall and its ripple effects. He said Spokane County has not yet needed to reduce existing services for the current calendar year but that the county expects potential impacts in 2026 and is tracking conversations between the state Health Care Authority and federal officials.

Justin outlined the county’s response strategy: avoid starting new programs that would depend solely on expanded Medicaid funding that could be cut, prioritize sustaining existing services, and seek alternative funding for expanded services. He said…