Summary of Gaps

The following is a summary of the gaps the RSCC has identified by category:

Community Education

• Lack of funding to continue the PAR Initiative and with it, Mental Health First Aid training. • Lack of funding for a full-scale suicide prevention program – Talk Saves Lives. • A means of tracking the effectiveness of community education initiatives.

Prevention and Early Intervention

• No central body to scale and spread successful prevention programs. • Lack of school-based prevention services for non-

Medicaid population. • No intensive youth services for non-Medicaid population. • Inadequate number of integrated physical/ behavioral health services. • Lack of funding to expand and support the

HopeSparks/PedsNW model with other providers.

Outpatient Services

• No central entity to track referrals, identify capacity gaps or coordinate system improvements. • Limited access due to payer limits. • Lack of treatment options for Medicare population. • No Medicare coverage for SUD treatment.

Community Behavioral Health Services

• Multidisciplinary teams need flexible payment structures allowing providers to bill for services such as outreach and transportation as MCIRT does. • Need flexible PACT-like teams available to a wider population. • Too few “step-down services” such as partial hospitalization, intensive outpatient treatment and day programs for those stabilizing from a crisis. • Few long-term intensive community behavioral health services. • No funding for services to support LRA compliance.

Crisis and Inpatient Services

• Lack of inpatient treatment beds for those who are medically unstable, have dementia or developmental disabilities, live with traumatic brain injuries, or have a history of violence • Lack of services for those with cooccurring disorders • No sobering center in Pierce County • Lack of sustainable funding for Pierce

County Co-responders • Too few “step-down” residential options

Services for the Justice-involved

• Lack of sustained funding for Trueblood diversion programs • Lack of Trueblood funding for justiceinvolved individuals in need of services beyond the narrow class

Additional Needs in Pierce County Housing and Housing Support Services

• Supportive and affordable housing • Funding for non-rental payment housing costs • Housing services for the co-occurring population

Access to Care

• No central access point (“universal front door”) for behavioral health services • No way to track referrals throughout the county • Access is limited by payer and insurance coverage

Workforce Development

• Community-based providers have difficulty retaining a well-qualified workforce due to competition with larger health systems.