Washington residents are invited to share input on the future of K–12 student behavioral health supports. As part of the Policy Codesign for K–12 School Behavioral Health project, UW CoLab for Community and Behavioral Health Policy and OSPI are gathering community input through the first Community Sounding Board questionnaire. 

Participants will review a set of design challenges (key questions and choices related to student behavioral health supports) and share where they stand. Feedback will be summarized and shared with the Core Design Team to inform their recommendations. 

The questionnaire is open to any Washington resident, and responses are due by Friday, May 29. 

Participants can also opt in to receive future updates, provide ongoing feedback, and be entered into a lottery to win a $150 gift card. 

Take the questionnaire: https://bit.ly/4doEtvK

Moving from Plan to Action

This year's legislative session was a landmark moment for Washington Thriving. House Bill 2429, which makes Washington Thriving a part of state law, passed the legislature and was signed by the Governor. This is a historic step toward turning our statewide strategic plan into lasting, accountable infrastructure.  

This legislation formally establishes the framework for a coordinated, equitable behavioral health system for children, youth, and young adults in Washington State. It reflects years of cross-sector collaboration, community voice, and shared commitment, and it sets the foundation for everything that comes next. Read our Legislative Session Wrap-Up here to learn more.  

Deep gratitude to everyone who advocated, testified, and showed up to make this happen! Work is now underway in collaboration with the governor's office to stand up the state-level structures called for in this important legislation.  

CYBHWGs Role in Washington Thriving

The Children, Youth, and Behavioral Health Work Group (CYBHWG) continues to evolve alongside the broader Washington Thriving implementation. Under HB 2429, the work group will serve as an advisory body to the Implementation Council in addition to its historical and ongoing role making recommendations to the legislature. 2026 will be a transitional year as the work group considers how its composition and charge may shift over time to align with the priorities and needs of the Strategic Plan. This gradual process will ensure that the work group’s strengths and credibility are sustained.  

The former Washington Thriving Advisory Group sunsetted upon the completion of the plan in late 2025. Members of the Advisory Group remain connected to this work, and have been invited to participate actively in CYBHWG meetings this year to ensure continuity as the Strategic Plan moves from development into implementation.  

Deepening Community Engagement in Implementation Efforts  

Washington Thriving is committed to deepening its youth, caregiver, and community engagement strategies that center lived experience voice, leadership, and decision-making as core to how the plan moves forward. Alongside this, Washington Thriving has been working with tribal representatives to understand how tribal and AI/AN (American Indian/Alaska Native) priorities intersect with the Washington Thriving Strategic Plan and how to ensure meaningful tribal leadership and collaboration in implementation at the intersections of these priorities.  

Both work-streams reflect a shared commitment: that the communities most impacted must be at the table shaping what comes next. Washington Thriving will continue building on this foundation in the months ahead as implementation structures take shape. 

Town Hall: A Collective Call to Action for all Washingtonians  

Washington Thriving's recent Town Hall was a tremendous success, drawing over 350 live attendees from across the state. The event featured an outstanding panel of speakers, robust Q&A, and a powerful call to action for all Washingtonians to find meaningful ways to align with Washington Thriving's shared vision and direction. The energy in the virtual room demonstrated what's possible when this kind of collaborative table-setting comes together.  

Questions and reflections collected will directly inform Washington Thriving's communications priorities and shape how to respond to the community's most pressing wonderings moving forward. 

Missed the event? Click here to view the recording. 

Issue Brief on Perinatal Behavioral Health  

Curious to learn more about perinatal behavioral health? Click here to read Washington Thriving’s Perinatal Behavioral Health Issue Brief. The brief dives into the importance of perinatal well-being to lifelong relational and emotional health, identifies needs and obstacles, and presents actions Washington can take to build on its efforts to support parents and families during this critical period. 

Systems Modeling: A Conversational Resource to Explore System Dynamics  

Click here to explore how Washington Thriving is using a dynamic systems tool to help us understand and shape conversations around the complex ecosystem of behavioral health for children, youth, and young adults in Washington State.  

CoLab Supporting Initiative 3: K-12 student behavioral health 

As mentioned in the opportunity at the top of the newsletter— UW CoLab for Community and Behavioral Health Policy, in partnership with OSPI, is actively co-designing a statewide training and technical assistance framework to help K–12 schools better support student behavioral health. This is part of Washington Thriving's first initiative to support K-12 student behavioral health and is linked to the recent passage of HB1634.

The co-design process includes perspectives from state agencies, school districts, educators, tribal representation, youth, parents, and community organizations. Co-design workshops, advisory group sessions, and dedicated activities to engage youth, family, and community voice are actively underway and on track to deliver the recommended framework by September.    

Bloom Works supporting Initiative 2 (Perinatal well-being) and Initiative 3 (K-12 student behavioral health) 

In parallel, Bloom Works, through funding secured through private philanthropic investment, is exploring deep-dive collaborative research opportunities to advance Initiatives 2 and 3. Their work will involve series of “sprints” over the next 12-18 months to generate concrete plan for collaborative action.  Bloom Works previously supported Washington Thriving in its planning phase with a series of discovery sprints which informed key areas of the Strategic Plan. Stay tuned! 

The Children and Youth Behavioral Health Work Group (CYBHWG) is the Advisory Body to Washington Thriving implementation. Its meetings are public and are a great place to hear about progress and share input during designated public comment periods.

Upcoming Work Group meetings:

• May 28th, 2026, 9:00am-3:00pm

• Thursday, June 18, 2026, 11:00 AM-2:00 PM 

Upcoming Subgroup meetings:

The CYBHWG has five active subgroups focused on different issue areas, which are just getting started for the year. You can find info on upcoming subgroup meetings here or email cybhwg@hca.wa.gov. 

Visit the Events Page on the Washington Thriving website for other upcoming Washington Thriving meetings and events.