Twenty-two counties in Washington state and the state association of counties are filing a lawsuit against the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services, citing officials’ failure to provide adequate mental health services to people at state facilities like Western State Hospital.
Filed in Pierce County Superior Court on Wednesday, the counties’ complaints hinge on civil conversion patients, a type of patient who is initially brought in on criminal charges from jail but lacks competency to stand trial and is ultimately “flipped” to a separate, civil system.
These are some of the most complex patients in the mental health system: They often have severe mental illness and substance use disorders, and are sometimes homeless or have criminal backgrounds.
DSHS said it would no longer accept most of these patients due to bed shortages and their obligation to house a growing number of patients under a different legal settlement known as Trueblood.
