Advancing Positive Policies for Children and Youth
Hugh’s work in government relations has created a more positive policy environment for children and youth in Washington state. During the past 15 years, he has contributed to several new Washington state laws and investments to mitigate the woeful lack of services available to address the behavioral health needs of youth. Some policy successes have included: Medicaid coverage of important alternatives to inpatient mental health services, namely partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient services; deeper support for community-based behavioral health services; the development of a state-wide behavioral health strategic planning process, gap analysis, and policy roadmap; and policies designed to simplify the administrative burdens on behavioral health clinicians to allow for greater patient access to services.
