Treatment Sales Tax
The Treatment Sales Tax (TST) is a local funding stream that works alongside federal and state funding such as Medicaid to meet mental health and substance use needs in Thurston County. Programs funded with TST aim to reduce justice involvement, emergency room use, health care costs, and public assistance.
TST is a 1/10 of 1% sales tax collected in Thurston County since 2009. Funds are spent on a variety of services including treatment courts such as Drug Court, services at the Thurston County Correctional Facility, community programs, and programs serving youth and families.
The Treatment Sales Tax program intends to:
- Improve the quality of life for Thurston County residents with behavioral health needs.
- Reduce criminal justice involvement for individuals with behavioral health needs, including jail diversion and reducing recidivism.
- Promote collaboration, coordination, and training across funded programs: Community Programs, Behavioral Health Providers, Corrections, Treatment Courts, Housing Services, and Youth & Family Services.
How are TST funds spent?
The chart above shows the breakdown of TST funds in 2025 in the following categories:
Youth and Family Services includes community and school-based behavioral health services and treatment for youth, services to youth in detention, and services to pregnant and parenting women.
Adult Programs includes treatment, housing, employment, re-entry, and case management services for adults with mental health, substance abuse, and co-occurring disorders in the community and/or in jail, including specialized services for Veterans.
Treatment Courts include Drug Court, DUI Court, Mental Health Court, and Veteran’s Court, Family Recovery Court, and their associated judicial, prosecution, and defense time.
Administration includes Public Health & Social Services oversight and monitoring of TST funds as well as staff training.
Community Grants are proposed and awarded every 1-2 years to community organizations that provide behavioral health services.
How do agencies apply for TST funding?
Every 1-2 years, Thurston County Public Health and Social Services releases a Request for Proposals (RFP) for one-time grants to provide behavioral health services to Thurston County residents.
Entities eligible for TST funding are: 1) Indian Tribes located within Thurston County, 2) private non-profit organizations meeting the statutory requirements under the IRS 501(C)(3) designation; 3) public non-profit organizations/ government entities; and 4) for-profit organizations. An example of an RFP from a prior year is: 2024-2025 TST Community Grant RFP Application.
Past grantees have included treatment providers, community agencies, and school districts. The next RFP process is anticipated to be released in Fall of 2027, subject to the County receiving projected revenue. Updates and application materials will be posted to the Public Health and Social Services Funding Announcements page. Please note that the majority of TST funding is allocated to County offices and departments through the County’s biennial budget process.
Additional Resources
An interactive data dashboard for the data reported to Treatment Sales Tax by TST-funded programs is available.
Contact our Treatment Sales Tax division at 360-490-7363 or email at tst@co.thurston.wa.us if you have additional questions.