King County BH-ASO Region

King County includes dense urban centers, suburban cities, and rural areas, all of which experience mental health and substance use crises in different ways. People who live and work in the county engage with a wide range of behavioral health services and crisis response pathways, often involving multiple agencies and providers. During a crisis, families, responders, and care teams may need to make decisions quickly while navigating these systems.

The Involuntary Treatment Act (ITA) is one of the legal frameworks used in King County when a person is experiencing a severe behavioral health crisis and may need involuntary care. How the ITA is initiated, experienced, and understood can vary depending on individual circumstances, service availability, and point of entry into the system.

This Listening Tour stop invites participation from people across King County — including individuals with lived experience, family members, providers, first responders, and others involved in or affected by the ITA process. The goal is to gather perspectives on how the ITA is currently working, where challenges arise, and what could help the process better reflect the needs and realities of communities throughout the county.

Upcoming Sessions

Sessions will be held November 2025-February 2026

• Concerned Community Members - These sessions are open to community members who currently live or work in King County who are interested in sharing their perspective on the civil commitment system who may not be a part of the other listed sectors. Please register for only one session over zoom. Sessions will be transcribed for data collection purposes.

  • To be Scheduled. Session coming up in Late February

• Lived Experts - Peers & Lived Experts

  • January 26th, 2026 (registration full)

• Lived Experts - Family Members & Loved Ones

  • To be scheduled

• Law Enforcement

  • To be scheduled

• Service Providers

  • January 27th, 2026 (registration full)

  • To be scheduled

• Supportive Peers

  • To be scheduled

• Public Defenders

  • February 10th, 2026 (open to public defenders only)

• Medical Staff

  • To be scheduled

Connect with us to join a session. Our region facilitator reach out to you with session information. Listening sessions are organized by region and by role.

We’ll need to know what county you’re currently in and from what perspective you’ll be sharing about ITA. Our hope is to have people from across the entire ITA system and those most impacted by it represented in the tour.

Not from King County BH-ASO and not sure what region you’re in? Check the map