The MIDD Behavioral Health Sales Tax Fund is a countywide 0.1% sales tax that funds initiatives to increase access to behavioral health services and support residents to connect to community and thrive in recovery. As required by state law, MIDD funds must be used for new and expanded mental health and substance use disorder services and may be used for therapeutic courts. Since 2008, MIDD has supported over 50 different high-quality programs and services to address mental health and substance use conditions for King County residents most in need. MIDD plays a critical role in King County’s strategy to increase access to behavioral health services. Like the CCC, MIDD is a local response to behavioral health needs unmet by inadequate funding from state and federal sources. MIDD is focused on keeping people out of costly and ineffective emergency response systems such as jails, emergency rooms, and hospitals, and instead helping people access care in their community.
MIDD generally does not invest in capital infrastructure. Instead, revenues are dedicated to a wide variety of smaller programs and services across the full spectrum of behavioral health care to impact five strategy areas that include Prevention and Early Intervention, Crisis Diversion, Recovery and Reentry, System Improvement, and Therapeutic Courts. The Crisis Care Centers Initiative, on the other hand, is targeted to make deep investments to preserve existing and create new facility capacity in specific areas of the behavioral health system where resources are most needed.