Best Starts for Kids, the Raikes Foundation, and other community organizations announced a partnership Thursday to pilot community-led mental health sites to improve young people’s well-being.
Through this partnership with the Raikes Foundation and the Funders for Adolescent Science Translation, we are launching the King County Youth Wellbeing Network (KC-WYN) at three pilot sites in the County.
KC-WYN’s initial three pilot sites will be in south Seattle, Vashon Island, and Renton/adjacent unincorporated King County. We will be seeking a lead organization to partner with the Renton site and releasing a Request for Proposals (RFP) later this month.
The goal of these pilot sites is to help young people thrive by connecting current referral systems to broader promotion and prevention supports such as youth leadership, arts, and cultural opportunities. They are designed to improve youth behavioral health, educational success, housing stability, and reduce use of crisis systems of care.
KC-WYN aims to strengthen coordinated prevention systems using a shared governance and learning structure that harnesses the insight and resources of local communities to both improve youth well-being in their communities and inform broader local policy efforts.
The three sites will work together to develop a shared measurement and accountability governance framework, demonstrating an innovative approach to centering community while ensuring better alignment and accountability across investments.
Background
Young people benefit from a full continuum of supports that are culturally responsive and affirm their identity as they grow, learn, and navigate challenges. To ensure they get the support they need, King County partners with community members and organizations to collaborate on policies and programs that provide connection to community, treatment, recovery support, or crisis intervention. By investing in proactive supports, rather than just crisis response, we can support young peoples’ life-long mental health and happiness.
To explore potential ways to build out that promotion and prevention work, King County partnered with the University of Washington CoLab in 2024. The CoLab then developed policy recommendations with a focus on the promotion of young people’s well-being through proactive supports, healthy coping strategies, and substance use prevention. King County collected insights from systems partners, community members, young people, and additional resources to develop policy recommendations for the County.
“In order to solve the mental health crisis, we need [to] have systemic change and have safe spaces for youth to share their struggles,” said one young person who participated.
Some directly called out the need for services that are more upstream, like prevention.
“People should be more open to the discussion of prevention. People tend to lump a lot of substance issues in with broad political ideologies rather than look at the reality of their solutions,” a youth participant shared.
The Co-Design Team’s Recommendations for King County
The team identified eight policy recommendations that bolster promotion, early intervention, and elevate youth voice and community leadership. These include:
- Establish a cross-department lead for youth prevention initiatives within the County
- Create a Youth & Family Council for accountability
- Leverage existing school-based infrastructure to expand prevention service
- Stand up hyperlocal Youth Wellness Community Boards to guide implementation of County investments in prevention
- Develop an online resource hub to aid King County residents in finding prevention information, resources, and support
- Implement school-based programs to support youth mental wellness and healthy behaviors
- Offer accessible parent engagement initiatives
- Ensure universal access to movement and creativity-based activities
You can read more about the project and recommendations in this policy brief and full report. The Co-Lab partnership went on to win an award from the National Association of County and City Health Officials for addressing public health challenges.
The Policy Recommendations and King County’s Youth Action Plan
In April, the King County Council adopted the 2025 Youth Action Plan. The Youth Action Plan is King County’s policy framework that outlines a set of recommended priorities for children and youth, including establishing a Youth Commission. The Youth Action Plan was first adopted by the Council in 2015.
Findings from the Co-Design project informed King County’s recently updated plan. The King County Youth Well-Being Network partnership offers an opportunity to put these policy recommendations into action by building out promotion and prevention strategies, leveraging existing referral systems, and demonstrating innovative community and youth-led governance structures.
For questions, please contact Sarah Wilhelm, sarah.wilhelm@kingcounty.gov.
