Gov. Jay Inslee today signed 19 behavioral health policy bills and the 2024 supplemental capital and operating budgets. The signing ceremony took place at the University of Washington’s first-in-the-nation teaching hospital for doctors and nurses embarking on careers in integrated behavioral and physiological health treatment. The new facility will include capacity for 150 patients when it opens this spring.
The final budgets built on the successes of the 2023–2025 biennial budget, notably increasing funding for behavioral health treatment and K-12 education.
“This budget provides steadfast support for programs and services that Washingtonians rely on in their day to day lives,” Inslee said. “We’re creating capacity for more behavioral health treatment options. We’re building more schools and hiring more support staff for teachers. We’re reducing homelessness and adding to last year’s historic investments in housing. We’re fending off the deadly scourge of fentanyl, bolstering public safety, and slashing air pollution.”