At the King County Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS), we manage a range of programs and services to help our county’s most vulnerable residents and strengthen our communities. DCHS reaches nearly 440,000 community members annually through the services we provide. Including behavioral health treatment, affordable housing, services for kids and families, education and employment for youth and young adults, veteran services, senior supports, and inclusive resources for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
MISSION
Provide equitable opportunities for people to be healthy, happy, and connected to community.
VISION
The Department of Community and Human Services supports and maintains vital communities, families, and individuals. The field of human services exists to undo and mitigate unjust structures that historically—and currently—allocate benefit and burden in ways that favor some people and disfavor others.
Our Divisions
Director’s Office
The Director’s Office, led by Department Director, Kelly Rider, and Amber Green, Deputy Director, manages the critical business functions of the department and provides regional leadership for our various efforts.
Adult Services Division
The Adult Services Division (ASD) works in partnership with communities to develop, support and provide human services programs focused on housing and financial stability, healthy living and social engagement for veterans, servicemembers and their families; older adults and their caregivers; and resilient communities. The division’s work also includes efforts to strengthen connections within, and improve access to, the human services system.
Behavioral Health and Recovery Division
The Behavioral Health and Recovery Division (BHRD) is committed to health services that serve the “whole” person, both mind and body—by providing services and supports to individuals, families, and communities affected by mental health and/or substance use conditions.
Children, Youth and Young Adults Division
The Children, Youth, and Young Adult Division (CYYAD) manages investment strategies that build the life, academic, and employment skills for young people to reach their full potential. The division also delivers re-engagement, education, and employment programs for youth and young adults ages 16-24 years and is partnering with King County agencies and community organizations to transform the County’s juvenile legal system.
Developmental Disabilities and Early Childhood Supports Division
The Developmental Disabilities and Early Childhood Supports Division (DDECSD) offers a range of programs and services to help children prenatal to five, their families, and caregivers; people with developmental disabilities and delays and their families, and community-based organizations.
Housing and Community Development
The Housing and Community Development Division (HCD) invests in the creation and preservation of affordable housing and community development projects by working collaboratively with local cities, housing authorities, developers, state and federal agencies, nonprofits, and community members.
Our Initiatives
Best Starts for Kids
Best Starts for Kids is a King County voter-approved initiative, that supports every baby born or child raised in King County to reach adulthood happy, healthy, safe, and thriving. Through comprehensive supports from prenatal development to adulthood, Best Starts catalyzes strong starts in early childhood and sustains those gains as kids progress to adulthood, launching King County’s kids on a path to lifelong health and well-being.
Crisis Care Centers Initiative
The Crisis Care Centers (CCC) initiative is a nine-year levy that will create a regional network of five Crisis Care Centers, restore and increase mental health residential treatment beds, and invest in the people who do the difficult, important, and historically underpaid work of providing mental health and substance use disorder services. A person in crisis can call 988 for resources, access a walk-in clinic, move to mid-level residential treatment if necessary, and interact with expert behavioral health workers through each step. This is part of a strategy to prevent more acute crises and create more pathways for services within the system.
Health Through Housing
Health Through Housing (HTH) is King County’s regional initiative to acquire and operate up to 1,600 units of affordable housing for residents experiencing and at risk of chronic homelessness while reducing racial-ethnic disproportionality. This program will provide a place to live for more than 40 percent of people experiencing chronic homelessness.
MIDD Behavioral Health Sales Tax Fund
The MIDD plays an integral role in community behavioral health and works to improve the behavioral health system to provide the care people need. By supporting King County’s behavioral health system across the full spectrum of behavioral health responses – from prevention, to treatment, the MIDD helps people transition back into the community after a crisis instead of hospitalization or jail.
Puget Sound Taxpayer Accountability Act
The Puget Sound Taxpayer Accountability Account (PSTAA) expands and strengthens equitable supports for youth in our region. PSTAA funds, as directed by the King County Council, support investments for early learning facilities, K-12 community-based supports, as well as college, career, and technical education.
Veterans, Seniors, and Human Services Levy
The Veterans, Seniors, and Human Services Levy (VSHSL) connects servicemembers and veterans, residents age 55 or older, and vulnerable populations to programs and services that help them live healthy, productive and meaningful lives. It helps individuals and families transition to affordable housing, get job training, find employment, receive behavioral health treatment, and more.