Behavioral Health Treatment Liaison - PN67 - HQ

Job Description

Behavioral Health Treatment Liaison
Tumwater, WA
Project Position
Monthly Salary Range: $8,842 to $9,327

The Behavioral Health Mental Health Treatment Liaison is a temporary project position that supports the mission, vision, and values of the Washington State Department of Corrections (DOC) and advances Health Services' quality assurance, patient safety, and compliance initiatives. This position is established to support statewide implementation of Substitute Senate Bill (SSB) 5388 and serves as a key member of the HS Quality Assurance Services team.
Under the direction of the Quality Assurance Program Director and reporting through the Health Services Administrator within the Quality, Governance, and Accountability team, this position assists in the application of the Department's behavioral health standards and other related programs. This position supports the application, operationalization and QA assessment of correctional behavioral health standards, protocols, and interpretive guidelines. The position collaborates extensively with DOC leadership, the Washington State Department of Health (DOH), multidisciplinary clinical teams, external stakeholders, and facility leadership to promote consistent implementation of behavioral health standards across all Washington State correctional facilities.
The Behavioral Health MH Liaison assists with planning, coordinating, application of, and evaluating all phases of the Department's behavioral health standards, including self-assessments, application activities, monitoring processes, quality assurance initiatives, and ongoing compliance efforts. Responsibilities include conducting research and regulatory analysis; assisting with development of policies, procedures, protocols, educational resources, implementation tools, self-assessment tools, tracking systems, and performance monitoring processes; and supporting statewide readiness.
The position develops and delivers educational programs, training materials, implementation guidance, and consultation to clinical staff, facility leadership, and other stakeholders regarding behavioral health standards, application expectations, and compliance requirements. The Behavioral Health MH Liaison serves as a resource and subject matter expert by interpreting standards and clinical expectations, identifying implementation barriers, recommending process improvements, and supporting quality improvement and corrective action planning when needed.
The BH MH Treatment Liaison provides subject-matter expertise, clinical consultation and guidance regarding mental health care service standards, treatment expectations, regulatory requirements, and best practices to support consistent application of behavioral health standards across all WA state DOC prison facilities. The MH Behavioral Health Treatment Liaison supports development and refinement of statewide mental health treatment standards designed to ensure the delivery of safe, timely, clinically appropriate, evidence-based behavioral health services for incarcerated individuals. The position promotes consistency in behavioral health practice by ensuring implementation activities aligned with the DOC Health Plan, applicable federal and state laws, Washington Administrative Code (WAC), Revised Code of Washington (RCW), nationally recognized correctional healthcare standards, accepted standards of clinical practice, and departmental policies.
The position collaborates closely with the Quality Improvement Program Director, Quality Improvement Nurses, the BH SUD Liaison, facility behavioral health leadership, Health Services administration, operational leadership, external stakeholders, and DOH partners to ensure successful implementation and long-term sustainability of the Department's behavioral health standards. This position also supports ongoing collaboration with DOH during application and future monitoring activities and serves as a resource for behavioral health standards interpretation, technical assistance, and continuous quality improvement.

Application assessment will be ongoing, and the hiring authority reserves the right to offer the position at any time during the recruitment process. It is to the applicant's advantage to apply as early as possible.

"This recruitment could be used to fill multiple permanent or non-permanent positions."
Provides subject-matter expertise in the field of mental health to support the planning, application, assessment and compliance of correctional standards, protocols, and interpretive guidelines in accordance with Department behavioral health standards.
Serve as the mental health treatment services subject matter expert assisting in the implementation, application, and maintenance of behavioral health standards for corrections.
Works with DOH and external stakeholder field experts related to services provided under Department behavioral health to uphold charter identifying objectives, timelines, and expected outcomes.
Stays abreast of agency policy, protocols, Health Environmental Safety Standards, DOC and other community standards and evidence-based practices to support quality correctional behavioral health treatment services.
Participate and/co-leads in meetings and quality assurance assessments to ensure assigned corrective action items are completed as expected.
Attend SME based workgroups and gatherings that deliver patient care to discuss issues, concerns, and best practices.
Provide routine progress reports to summarize progress and identify roadblocks or barriers impacting the completion of the project.
Assist in the development of communication and education plans to effectively roll out the new correctional behavioral health standards.
Works with DOH and QA team members to build and track BH compliance.
Participate in self-evaluation of existing standards and make recommendations for necessary changes.
Participates in planning meetings to support clear and valuable information, working with the Communications team, supervisory chain, DOH and other external stakeholders to share important messaging where directed and appropriate.

Provides training and mentorship to Department staff, educating on standards, processes, protocols, and policy expectations to support successful outcomes and improve patient care.
Participates in the facilitation and education related to the development, implementation, and maintenance of the Department's internal survey readiness program to support transparent evaluation and corrections based behavioral health care.
Participates in preparatory self-assessments, working with local SMEs to address identified concerns prior to, during, and immediately following DOH assessments.
Build curriculum and training materials to facilitate successful learning opportunities for health care staff and their leadership.
Provides virtual and onsite training and information sessions as appropriate.
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