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Committee hears bill to extend children-in-crisis coordination team through 2027
Summary
Lawmakers and providers urged support for House Bill 1272, which would extend and retitle the state position coordinating care for children with complex needs and continue a rapid care team that has supported nearly 60 youth; no vote was taken at the hearing.
House Bill 1272 would extend the state's Children and Youth Multisystem Care position and related programs through June 30, 2027, supporters told the House Children, Youth & Early Learning Committee.
The bill, presented by committee counsel Luke Wickham, would retitle the position from "Children and Youth Multisystem Care Coordinator" to "Children and Youth Multisystem Care Project Director" and require an annual report to the Legislature with data and recommendations related to the rapid care team, Wickham said.
The measure seeks to continue a multi-agency effort that coordinates the discharge and placement of children under 18 who are "at risk of remaining in a hospital without a medical necessity" or experiencing placement instability and who have been referred by the Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF). Wickham told the committee the position currently directs use of flexible funds to support safe discharges, coordinates with rapid response and navigator teams, and works with the Health Care Authority (HCA), the Office of Financial Management (OFM), and the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS).
Taku Mineshita, who identified themself as the Children and Youth Multisystem Care Project Director in the Office of the Governor, told the committee the rapid care team has supported nearly 60 children and families with exceptionally complex needs. "Through our intervention, the youth was safely discharged into appropriate care, significantly improving their well-being," Mineshita said, describing work with state agencies, hospitals, service providers and community organizations.
Dr. Alicia Thompson, clinical director of the Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine unit at Seattle Children's Hospital, testified in strong support of the extension. "We have referred 25 youth over the past year to the 1580 team," she said, and reported reductions in length of stay for youth who were referred compared with similar youth prior to the program. Thompson said the team has helped move children into community services more appropriate than inpatient hospitalization.
Representative Eslick, who joined as a sponsor for the bill originally introduced by Representative Kallen, described the measure as a targeted extension of an existing program created in the 2023 session under 2nd Substitute House Bill 1580. "This is one of those little bills, pretty simple, only a couple minor changes, but for a huge issue for our youth," Eslick said.
No committee vote was recorded during the hearing; the chair closed the hearing after testimony. The committee staff noted the bills heard that day are scheduled for executive session later in the week and that amendment deadlines apply prior to that meeting.
The bill would keep in statute a position and rapid care team that participants said has provided both child-specific case conferencing and systems-level meetings to address immediate crises and longer-term gaps in services.
