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Committee recommends due pass on 2023 MID evaluation summary; report shows long-term declines in crisis events for participants
Summary
The Health, Housing and Human Services Committee voted Feb. 4 to recommend a due pass to the full King County Council for the 2023 MID mid-evaluation summary, which shows MID-funded services served 24,340 people in 2023 and were associated with long-term declines in crisis events among participants.
The King County Health, Housing and Human Services Committee on Feb. 4 recommended a due pass to the full council for the 2023 Mental Illness and Drug Dependency (MID) mid-evaluation summary report.
Department of Community and Human Services Director Kelly Ryder and MID coordinator Robin Fomin briefed the committee on the report, which the department transmits under King County Code. Sam Porter of council policy staff said the report meets statutory reporting requirements, including performance and program utilization statistics, progress on implementation and geographic distribution of expenditures.
Why it matters: MID is funded by a 0.1% behavioral health sales tax and supports treatment and system investments for people with or at risk of behavioral health conditions. The tax is set to expire at the end of the year; renewal legislation must be adopted by mid-October to avoid a gap in collections.
Key findings reported by DCHS: MID funding supported 73 providers through about 300 contracts and served more than 24,340 people in 2023. The department reported long-term reductions in crisis-system use among MID participants: three-year reductions included a 27% decline in psychiatric hospital admissions, a 30% decline in emergency department admissions and a 61% decline in jail bookings for adults who enrolled in MID-funded services. DCHS also said 67% of adults who engaged with MID-supported services had fewer recorded crisis events over the long term, and 89% of youth in related programs had no juvenile legal system charges filed after enrolling.
The report details investments across five strategic areas and highlights 2023 priorities including workforce development, overdose response and treatment expansion, access to services for immigrants and refugees, and youth well-being. DCHS noted a grant-funded art therapy pilot that served 62 participants ages 11 to 19 (97% identifying as people of color) and said annual MID revenue collections and fund balances were relatively stable in 2023.
Committee action: Vice Chair Joe McDermott (speaking in his committee role as vice chair Dunn in the transcript) moved to recommend a due pass; the roll-call vote was 4-0 in favor. The committee directed that the due-pass recommendation be placed on the council consent agenda for the Feb. 18 meeting.
Next steps and context: DCHS and MID staff pointed to a planned executive transmission in May of proposed renewal legislation and a 2026-27 transitional spending plan. The committee members asked for follow-up information on mobile behavioral health response team deployment and coordination with new crisis-care investments.
