Good morning, For years, the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS), as well as Disability Rights Washington, have been working to find a way for competency evaluation and restoration treatment timely to class members from the Trueblood v. DSHS lawsuit. In December 2018, an agreed settlement for this lawsuit was signed by Federal Court Judge Marsha Pechman. The settlement agreement creates a plan, which provides a range of services for class members and potential class members. There are three phases of the agreement, the first covers three initial regions: Southwest, Pierce and Spokane. In an effort to better understand the needs in the regions specified in Phase 1 of the agreement, staff from both DSHS and Health Care Authority met with stake holders and community members in these areas. These meetings provided great conversation and much needed input on services currently being utilized and what is needed so people receive competency evaluation and/or restoration services timely or better yet – are diverted from the judicial system all together and able to get treatment for their mental illness. We have attached three informational flyers about Trueblood that were shared during those meetings. As part of this work, we want to encourage you to reach out to us at truebloodtaskforce@dshs.wa.gov. We want to be a part of the conversation and hear about all the great work that is happening around the state for class members. Please be sure to reach out to us via email so we can track what is happening, answer questions and share success stories. Thank you for taking part – together, we are transforming behavioral health in our state!

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