This month, the Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS) presented to the King County Council an up-close look at how the department pays providers whose work is critical to expanding access to services like behavioral health, childcare, affordable housing, and more.  

Over the past decade, DCHS expanded dramatically, implementing the new Health Through Housing and Crisis Care Centers initiatives, and growing Best Starts for Kids, the MIDD Behavioral Health Fund, and the Veterans Seniors, and Human Services levy. DCHS held 2,700 contracts in 2024, quadrupling its budget from 2015 through 2024 to $1.7 billion annually.  

The pandemic highlighted the urgent need to expand the department’s capacity to respond to both long-standing and emergent community needs. Confronted by this new reality, our team responded—working diligently to scale critical services to address demand brought on by COVID-19 and its effects, from housing and rental assistance to behavioral health supports, education, and employment opportunities. Our nonprofit partners responded heroically, serving on the front lines, spending down financial reserves, and implementing new programs to respond to increasingly larger and more acute demands. Despite dramatic inflation, a strained workforce, and rising community need, our nonprofit partners served over 439,000 individuals in 2023 – more than ever before.    

DCHS plays a critical role in supporting providers’ success and ensuring our budget benefits the residents of King County who rely on us most. This includes: 

  • Proposing budgets and implementation plans that respond to evolving community needs; 
  • Executing open, ethical, competitive procurements to seek out the programs best able to meet those needs; 
  • Monitoring programs to ensure quality services are delivered as promised;  
  • Paying providers expediently, accurately, and sustainably for their work; and 
  • Reporting on progress and identifying opportunities for improvement. 

We are pleased to share the progress we made in 2024 and early 2025:  

  • Executed over 7,000 provider payments in 2024. 
  • Ensured providers now receive payments 11-15 days from submitting invoices. 
  • Formed a department-wide workgroup to clarify roles, expectations, and guidance for staff conducting a range of fiscal contract compliance and program monitoring activities.  
  • Launched the Inflation Rate Adjustment Policy for Human Services Contracts in response to the impacts underinvestment in the nonprofit workforce causes to programs, services, and the overall human services sector. 
  • Invested $12 million to 37 providers; 25% dedicated to growing a more diverse workforce as part of the Crisis Care Centers Initiative workforce investments.  
  • Launched the Best Starts for Kids Child Care Worker Wage Boost Pilot to study how government investment in the child care workforce impacts retention, worker well-being, facility stability, continuity in care, and sustainability in the sector.  
  • Will soon launch the Veteran, Seniors, and Human Services Levy (VSHSL) Human Services Workforce Stabilization strategy that will invest $58 million over the levy, 2024-2029   

DCHS understands how important it is to sustain and strengthen the human services sector, including paying providers accurately and timely, training County program and provider staff on contract monitoring and fiscal compliance, and providing technical assistance and capacity building to secure provider success.   

Managing the performance of our contracted partners is a critical part of our work because it helps enable reliable, high-quality services being provided to the community. Providers can expect to hear more from us soon about updated monitoring processes and expectations, including enhanced provider training. This will include some changes to program monitoring activities so we can prevent contract compliance issues before they occur and effectively respond when they do. 

Collectively, these efforts mean fulfilling our commitments to tax payers, contracted partners, and the residents they serve by delivering clear expectations and the support our providers need to be successful. We owe the residents of King County the best use of every dollar that the public entrusts in us.