King County Council Ordinance 15949 identified five policy goals:

1. A reduction in the number of mentally ill and chemically dependent people using costly interventions like jail, emergency rooms, and hospitals
2. A reduction in the number of people who recycle through the jail, returning repeatedly as a result of their mental illness or chemical dependency
3. A reduction of the incidence and severity of chemical dependency and mental and emotional disorders in youth and adults
4. Diversion of mentally ill and chemically dependent youth and adults from initial or further justice system involvement
5. Explicit linkage with, and furthering the work of, other council directed efforts including, the Adult and Juvenile Justice Operational Master plans, the Plan to End Homelessness, the Veterans and Human Services Levy Service Improvement Plan and the King County Mental Health Recovery Plan.

Background

King County experienced several consecutive years of state budget cuts to its mental health programs, resulting in loss of services or extremely tight eligibility criteria for many low-income people in need. Inadequate state funding for substance abuse services over many years limited access to treatment for many needy county residents. It is no surprise, therefore, that a high number of individuals arrested, jailed or hospitalized are people with untreated mental health and substance abuse issues.

In 2005, the Washington State Legislature created an option for counties to raise the local sales tax by 0.1 percent to augment funding for mental health and chemical dependency services and therapeutic courts. Seven counties - Spokane, Jefferson, Skagit, Clallam, Clark, Okanogan and Island - have implemented the sales tax increase, with several others considering action.

An extensive exploration of the possibility of utilizing the tax option in King County began with passage of Council Motion 12320 (pdf) , which yielded the three-part Mental Illness and Drug Dependency Action Plan, with the final phase completed in June 2007. The council accepted the action plan via Motion 12598 (pdf) in October 2008 and authorized the sales tax levy collection via Council Ordinance 15949 (pdf) approved on Nov. 13, 2007. The council ordinance requires development of a three-part oversight, implementation and evaluation plan during the first half of 2008, prior to the expenditure of the levy proceeds.

For King County, the sales tax increase will yield approximately $30 million in its first year and over $50 million annually through 2016, when the sales tax levy is scheduled to end.

For more information, contact:
Amnon Shoenfeld Director,
King County Mental Health, Chemical Abuse and Dependency Services Division