The Harborview Behavioral Health Institute (BHI) has been awarded a two-year, $3.1M grant from King County to plan and implement a Crisis Training Academy. This work involves creating and implementing a centralized crisis training resource for King County’s new levy-funded Crisis Care Centers, Post-Crisis Follow-Up (PCFU) teams, and other behavioral health professionals in King County. This grant builds on the significant experience the BHI team has in workforce training, as well as in addressing crisis care systems in Washington.
 
Crisis care and services require specialized skills in de-escalation, risk assessment, triage decision-making, and trauma-informed practices. The academy will help recruit and train new workers in these skills, including peers with lived experience of mental health and substance use crises. It will also train current workers in navigating our expanded crisis system to provide safe and effective crisis care for everyone in King County.
 
“We are thrilled to help realize King County’s vision for a Crisis Training Academy — something we see and experience the need for first-hand — to help teams communicate and deliver care that is consistently high-quality and more connected,” said Cara Towle, MSN RN MA, BHI’s program director for the Training, Workforce and Policy Innovation Center.