This week, host Austin Jenkins spends the full hour with Jilma Meneses, who leads the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services.
“DSHS,” as it is known in state government circles, is a large state agency with a broad mission. It serves one out of every four Washingtonians with its social service programs and services. DSHS comprises a number of divisions including:
· The Economic Services Administration
· Division of Vocational Rehabilitation
· Aging and Long-Term Support Administration
· Behavioral Health Administration
· Developmental Disabilities Administration
Meneses discusses the progress DSHS has made in reducing the number of people waiting in jail for mental health services, an issue under legal requirements stemming from the so-called Trueblood decision.
Also discussed, the emotionally charged issue of youth who have developmental disabilities along with extreme behaviors who are hard to place and often end up stuck in the hospital. The department will be opening a new residential facility in Burien in July to serve youth aged 13-18 with intellectual and developmental disabilities and complex behavioral health needs.
In Lakewood near Tacoma, demolition has begun on the grounds of Western State Hospital, the state’s largest inpatient psychiatric hospital, paving the way for a new forensic hospital to built at the site.
That and more as we talk with Jilma Meneses, this week on Inside Olympia.