Governor Inslee Signs SSB 5189 to Establish BHSS in Washington

The UW Behavioral Health Support Specialist Clinical Training Program is excited to announce that Governor Inslee has signed SSB 5189 into law to establish the role of behavioral health support specialist (BHSS) in Washington. We are grateful to Senators Trudeau, Wagoner, Conway, Dhingra and Wilson for sponsoring this bill as well as Rep. Callan and colleagues who supported companion bill 1348 in the House. SSB 5189 passed both legislative chambers with unanimous support. We also want to acknowledge the generosity of the Ballmer Group’s gift to the University of Washington to support development of competencies and curriculum for the BHSS role. SSB 5189 directs the Department of Health to issue the BHSS credential starting January 1, 2025. 

In the meantime, our team looks forward to collaborating with the Department of Health and consulting organizations to develop rules supporting the BHSS credential. Additionally we look forward to working with statewide education partners including Centralia College Behavioral Healthcare Program, Eastern Washington University School of Psychology, Lake Washington Institute of Technology Behavioral Health and Social Services, Spokane Falls Community College Integrated Behavioral Health Program and UW Tacoma School of Social Work to implement the BHSS Clinical Training Program. More educational programs will be adopting the BHSS Clinical Training Program in the near future. Faculty from academic programs across the state will be contributing to on-going curriculum development. There will also be an opportunity to create innovative pathways toward credentialing through a registered apprenticeship combined with either a bachelor’s degree or post-baccalaureate certificate program.