Phase 4 Trueblood Preliminary Implementation Plan submitted to the court monitor
OLYMPIA — After reaching a significant milestone in efforts to transform the behavioral health system, the State of Washington and Disability Rights Washington recommend staying the course and enhancing existing Trueblood programs starting July 2025.
For nearly six years, state agencies — the Department of Social and Health Services, the Health Care Authority, and the Criminal Justice Training Commission — tasked with implementing the court orders from the Trueblood Settlement, have implemented new services for those involved in the criminal court system and need of behavioral health treatment.
The Trueblood vs. DSHS lawsuit challenges unconstitutional delays in competency evaluations and restoration services. The state has been ordered to provide court-ordered competency evaluations within 14 days and competency restoration services within seven days.
“Thanks to our strong community and state agency partners, and our employees’ dedicated and creative efforts to serve people in crisis, we have Trueblood programs in 16 counties and have added 267 patient beds across the state since 2015,” said DSHS Acting Secretary Bea Rector. “We remain focused on enhancing existing services and adding treatment capacity to our state’s behavioral health system.”
Updates include:
In-jail competency evaluations are completed within 14 days of the signature or receipt of a court order:
-In 2024, the Department completed evaluations an average of 83.3% of the time within 14 days across the state.
-Achieved 100% compliance over several months in many parts of Eastern Washington.
Inpatient competency restoration services are offered and provided to Trueblood class members within seven days of the signature or receipt of court orders.
“HCA is proud of the partnership and progress that has been made in how our agency intersects with the criminal legal system,” said Teesha Kirshbaum, director of HCA’s Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery. “HCA and DSHS continue to work together to encourage and support people who find themselves at the intersection of behavioral health and the law.
“As we continue to invest in community-based services, we reduce the need for deeper end care like hospitalization. We can then extend the time that people can remain in the community and utilize the outpatient system and their natural supports. Additionally, the better connected people are to the outpatient system, the shorter their hospital stays can become, as there is earlier intervention and better coordination between care settings. This can also mean they are not engaging in the criminal legal system,” Kirshbaum added.
Nothing in the Phase 4 agreement restricts Gov. Bob Ferguson’s administration, or any future gubernatorial appointee, including the heads of any cabinet agency.
The Final Implementation Plan will go into effect on July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2027.
Trueblood programs focus on completing timely evaluations, restoring competency to defendants, case management services and securing stabilizing housing.
-Forensic navigators are court officers who guide defendants through the competency restoration process. The program has worked on almost 17,400 court cases since 2020.
-Since March 2020, the Forensic Housing and Recovery Through Peer Services program has secured or stabilized housing for 866 people, while FPATH has successfully contacted 1,206 clients.
For more information on the Trueblood Settlement, visit the Trueblood web page.
Media Contacts:
DSHS Office of Communications, Cynthia Shipley, cynthia.shipley2@dshs.wa.gov.
HCA Media Relations at HCAMediaRelations@hca.wa.gov.
