The MIDD Renewal Team is hosting three community update meetings to provide insight on Phase One of Community Engagement and MIDD Renewal efforts.
The Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS) recently released a new report sharing feedback from community engagement on the topic of the behavioral health system, which provides supports and treatment for mental health and substance use, including prevention, promotion, treatment, crisis intervention, community building, recovery supports, and more. The Phase One Community Engagement Report, an overview of community engagement in preparation for the renewal of the MIDD behavioral health sales tax, is available now. Read it in full here.
County staff spoke to diverse populations throughout King County, including people with lived experience navigating the behavioral health system, BIPOC communities, youth advocates, services providers, and past and current recipients of MIDD behavioral health sales tax funds.
The report analyzed the diverse community engagement methods to identify common themes and subthemes. Major themes included:
- Access & Barriers
- Culturally Relevant & Responsive Care
- System Fragmentation & Service Coordination
- Services for Children, Youth, and Young Adults
- Behavioral Health Workforce
- Strengthening Wraparound Services
- Priority Populations
To learn more about Phase One of community engagement, to meet the MIDD Renewal Team, and for updates on renewal efforts, you are invited to join one of three community update meetings.
Join a virtual MIDD community update meeting
- Wednesday, March 12, from 11am-12pm (virtual)
- Tuesday, March 18, from 4-5pm (virtual)
- Wednesday, March 19, from 1-2pm (virtual)
About Phase One Community Engagement
Between July and November of 2024, King County conducted a robust community engagement campaign to inform the renewal of the MIDD behavioral health sales tax. Topics for feedback included behavioral health needs, service gaps, and opportunities for growth and improvement in the behavioral health system.
The goal of Phase One Community Outreach was to ensure that equity is at the forefront of these community engagement activities, the engagement events and questions were crafted to seek the input of communities from throughout King County. This round of community engagement focused on gathering insight on the needs, gaps and opportunities within the behavioral health system. Engaged populations included:
- Youth and adults with lived experiences with behavioral health conditions
- Under-served and under-represented BIPOC community members and providers
- Community behavioral health providers
- MIDD-funded providers
- Community-based organizations (CBOs)
- Community members from across King County (including outreach in suburban cities unincorporated King County, Council Districts, and Community Service Areas)
- Rural Residents
About the MIDD
MIDD is a countywide 0.1% sales tax that generates about $180 million per biennium (every two years). MIDD currently serves tens of thousands of people each year through its funding of programs and services for people living with or at risk of developing behavioral health conditions. King County’s MIDD is managed and operated by the King County Department of Community and Human Services’ (DCHS) Behavioral Health and Recovery Division (BHRD).
Since 2008, MIDD has funded high-quality programs and services that, collectively, work to reduce reliance on jails, emergency rooms, and hospitals, and create connections to community for King County residents most in need. King County established the current MIDD in 2016 in for 2017-2025. Now the MIDD Renewal Team is working to imagine and realize the next iteration of MIDD. The Renewal Team is working closely with leadership from DCHS and the Executive’s Office to submit a plan to the King County Council to continue and improve the sales tax.
Next steps for MIDD Renewal
The themes that emerged from Phase One of community engagement will help ensure that policies, programs and services in the next iteration of MIDD respond to the needs and challenges faced by different populations in King County.
In Phase Two, underway until April 2025, the Renewal Team will use the themes gathered from Phase One to inform questions and approach for continued engagement, particularly in seeking feedback from populations who were underrepresented in Phase One.
To stay informed about MIDD Renewal, visit the website here for updates and to sign up for email news.