For too long, communities across King County have faced barriers to getting the behavioral health care they need to support their long-term recovery. At the Department of Community & Human Services (DCHS), we are breaking the cycle through our commitment to following through, connecting people to routine mental health care and recovery supports after they are discharged from treatment in hospitals, inpatient programs, or Crisis Care Centers.
New data shows efforts to connect clients of King County’s behavioral health services to outpatient care after a hospitalization are working and setting a national standard for follow-up care. The period after leaving a hospital is a critical time in someone’s journey towards recovery. Without connection and ongoing support, they can be at high risk for a return of symptoms, rehospitalization, or suicide.
Results and Approach
In 2023, DCHS began measuring follow-up care for clients who were involuntarily hospitalized due to experiencing a severe mental health or substance‑use crisis. At the time, about 65% of clients received outpatient follow-up services within 30 days of discharge from involuntary hospitalization.
In 2025, DCHS invested in a series of initiatives to better connect clients exiting involuntary hospitalization to routine follow-up care. As a result, 87% of clients received follow-up care within 30 days. This is a 20% percent increase from 2023.
DCHS’s approach to improving clients’ connections to follow-up care include:
- Daily hospitalization reports: DCHS gives providers the most current data available so they can see when their clients are hospitalized and act quickly when they are discharged.
- Centralized care coordination: A new online hub holds up-to-date contact information, preferred routine and urgent contacts for clients, as well as best practice workflows to make referrals and information sharing easier between providers.
- Problem Solving: When provider agencies face coordination issues, they submit a Care Notification Form so King County can work with providers, fix the problem, and find a solution.
- Performance Incentives: DCHS added incentives that reward agencies for following up with clients within 7 days and 30 days of discharge.
- Bed Tracker: A bed tracker for substance use disorder treatment is now available and being updated to show availability of beds in real-time to improve placement and referrals.
- Leveraging New Tools: Tools are being created for specialty providers to coordinate across different types of treatment facilities, including Evaluation & Treatment units, substance use disorder services, and Emergency Departments. One example includes a new “crisis plan” template that is a client-centered safety plan that incorporates the client’s voice.
- Psychiatry Care Coordination Pilot: This pilot now includes 6 local hospitals and 6 outpatient providers working toward robust coordination and information exchange standards.
By strengthening relationships between hospitals and outpatient providers, and tracking results over time, we are connecting more people to the routine care they need after an inpatient stay. These improvements help people stay engaged in treatment, support recovery, and raise the standard of behavioral health care across the county.