Behavioral Health Advisory Board

The King County Behavioral Health Advisory Board is a volunteer citizen board formed in April 2016 in support of the new Behavioral Health Organization (BHO). It reviews services for the King County BHO - mental health and substance use disorder services - to provide input and counsel to King County on priorities, policies, budgets and programs for the residents of King County.

The board works to promote the importance of prevention, treatment, recovery and the de-stigmatization of mental illness and addiction. The board was created in RCW 71.24.300 and is recognized in King County Code 2.32.010. The board reviews services in the public behavioral health (mental health and substance use disorder) system and provides feedback about how the system could be made better. Board responsibilities include:

• Reviewing and providing comments on plans and policies
• Local oversight on activities of the BHO including service delivery and outcomes
• Reviewing and approving recommendations from subcommittees
• Providing information to the residents of King County on system change issues
• Promoting de-stigmatization of mental illness and addiction
• Legislative advocacy related to behavioral health, including identifying and promoting issues of importance in prevention, treatment and recovery
• Serving as liaison between service provider boards, Chief Executive Officers, and clients.
  

Membership

We currently have openings and are recruiting for certain districts. Please contact our board liaison for more information: Monica De Leon Carvajal: mdeleonc@kingcounty.gov

The board is made up of 15 volunteer members. The law requires that the board be broadly representative of the diverse populations that live in the county and of the persons served by the public behavioral health system. Representation from King County’s rich ethnic and cultural diversity is actively sought. People with a lived experience with mental illness or substance use disorders now in recovery and family members of people who have received services in the public behavioral health system must make up at least 51% of the board. The board also strives to achieve broad countywide representation. Length of term is three years, which is renewable. See bottom of the page for a list of board members.​

Meetings

Meetings are held the first Thursday of the month from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. via Teams. Meetings are open to the public.

Per RCW 42.30 Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA), all meetings of governing bodies of public agencies are required to be open to the public. The Governor has lifted the OPMA waiver for in-person meetings. Effective July 7, 2022, the monthly BHAB meeting will occur in Conference Room 121 of the Chinook Building at the above address. BHAB will still meet online but pursuant to the OPMA requirement, the board shall adhere to the requirement of meeting in a physical location.

For any questions, please contact:

Monica De Leon Carvajal
Monica De Leon Carvajal
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