Behavioral Health Forum Year in Review, 2022

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This page provides an overview of the Behavioral Health Forum’s 2022 body of work, which focused on identifying and developing workforce investments and initiatives to be implemented in 2023.

Beginnings

Since 2018, Better Health Together has regularly convened behavioral health providers in the region to support integration efforts, invest in workforce development, and collectively address challenges facing organizations and community members. Read more about the history of the Behavioral Health Forum here.

In November 2021, the BHT Board allocated $1.2 million in Integrated Managed Care (IMC) incentive funds to behavioral health initiatives, setting the stage for collective decision-making by Forum participants.

Shift to self-governance

In 2022, the Behavioral Health Forum shifted from its role as an advisory group to the BHT Board to a self-governing group, with facilitation and administrative support from BHT. As part of this shift, the forum established a charter that outlines how decisions are made and who qualifies as a voting member. We established a member agreement for participants and identified guiding principles that ground our work in shared values, including health equity.

Prioritizing workforce investments using participatory budgeting

In May, forum participants used a participatory budgeting process to allocate the $1.2 million into four priority categories:

From June through November, the forum identified specific initiatives for potential funding within each of these large categories. Members ranked initiatives by priority and investment level to determine which activities to implement (click images below to enlarge voting results).

View the full results in each category, including voting results and final dollar determination.

Looking ahead

The forum plans to fund a number of new initiatives, including:

  • Stipends for organizations taking on practicum/internship students

  • Scholarships for students in the new integrated behavioral health bachelor’s program at Spokane Falls Community College

  • A practicum/internship pilot to support newly certified peers in putting skills into practice following their initial training

  • Training and technical assistance to support non-peer-focused organizations in supervising peers and building understanding of the role

  • A variety of trainings, including train the trainer opportunities to build local capacity

  • Offsetting lost billable hours for people pursuing professional development

The Forum also approved funding for continuation of the following initiatives, which have previously been implemented by BHT:

Next Steps

The forum expects to begin distributing dollars in the first quarter of 2023 for 2021/22 initiatives receiving continuation funding. For new initiatives, design work is underway with plans to roll out funding opportunities throughout 2023.  

To see recordings, view meeting notes, and learn more about the Behavioral Health Forum’s past and current work, visit our Behavioral Health Resources page.

If you have questions or would like more information, contact Hannah Klaassen (hannah@betterhealthtogether.org), Program Manager or Sarah Bollig Dorn (sarah@betterhealthtogether.org), Assistant Director of Health Integration.