King County Behavioral Health Advisory Board

The King County Behavioral Health Advisory Board (BHAB) is a volunteer board. The Board advises the King County Executive and County Council on mental health and substance use matters. This includes education, prevention, treatment, crisis response, and regional behavioral health services.

The BHAB is the advisory body for the King County Behavioral Health Administrative Services Organization (BHASO) which oversees behavioral health programs and crisis services. The BHAB is very familiar with mental health, substance use, and crisis services, and also serves as the advisory body for the King County Crisis Care Center Levy.

The Board’s responsibilities include:

• Uplifting the input of individuals with mental health and/or substance use conditions to improve services;
• Advocating for the needs of individuals living with mental health and/or substance use conditions at a local and state level;
• Building relationships in the community to help ensure behavioral health and physical health are treated together;
• Approving King County’s Mental Health Block Grant (MHBG) and Substance Use Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Services (SUPTRS) Block Grant spending plans;
• Visiting each crisis care center annually to understand the perspectives of operators, staff, and those being served;
• Reporting on the Crisis Care Center Levy through online annual reports; and
• Providing quality improvement feedback to key partners.

Membership

The BHAB is comprised of 9 to 18 residents and is broadly representative of the geographical and demographic mix of King County communities. The majority of Board members are individuals who self-identify as being in recovery from a mental health and/or substance use condition and parents or legal guardians of a person with lived experience of a behavioral health condition. This includes residents who have previously received crisis stabilization services. You can find more information about BHAB membership and the Board’s authorizing legislation in their bylaws.

Join our Board!