Brain Injury Community Alliance

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The Quick Guide to Support HB-2248

BICA

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A watermarked aerial photograph of the capitol building in Olympia among tree tops with Mt. Tahoma (aka Rainier) in the background. The words over the image say "HB 2248 Support for People Living with Brain Injury. Quick Guide."

Thank you for showing your support for House Bill 2248: Providing Support to Individuals with Traumatic Brain Injuries!

You can do this in three easy steps:

  1. Go to the House Bill 2248 Comment Page.
  2. Fill out the form.
  3. Click the “Send Comment” button.

Template Text

Subject:

Please support and prioritize hearing House Bill 2248 in the 2024 Legislative Session

Message:

I am writing to voice my support for House Bill 2248 (Providing Support to Individuals with Traumatic Brain Injuries, Rep. Jessica Bateman) and to request it be prioritized for a hearing in the 2024 Legislative Session.

This is a simple bill, yet the timing of it’s hearing is urgent.

RCW 74.31 was created in 2007 and demonstrated a commitment by Washington state to provide direct support to people living with permanent changes and disability due to brain injury.

For a long time Washington was one of the better places to live if you had a Brain Injury. Sadly, this is no longer true. Our community continues to suffer as there are continuous and rapid departures from the intents and declarations of RCW 74.31 indented to provide vital mechanisms of support for people and families living with Brain Injury.

As of today:

TBI COUNCIL SEATS REMAIN 20% UNREPRESENTED
As of today there are 20% of seats unrepresented. This was nearly 30% unrepresented seats in August 2023, and 40% unrepresented seats going back to 2018-2019.

TBI COUNCIL SEATS ARE 60% REPRESENTED BY STATE EMPLOYEES
Of the represented seats, 60% are occupied by state employees or people holding state contracts with DSHS that pose a conflict of interest. This does not reflect the community representation intended by having a TBI Council.

THERE IS ONLY ONE-WAY ONLINE ACCESS TO COUNCIL MEETINGS
Limiting access to only those with access to internet and ability to use a computer. And there is no way for the public to provide comment.

THE PUBLIC DOES NOT HAVE ACCESS TO INFORMATION
Relevant documents and information from the TBI Council meetings are no longer available to the public, and there are significant delays in answering public disclosure requests.

ALL FUNDING FOR IN-PERSON SUPPORT PROGRAMS HAS BEEN SYSTEMATICALLY ELIMINATED
Despite nearly 20 years successful support programs run by established organizations in the community, DSHS removed all funding and redirected to an online-only platform with a new vendor. This has resulted in the elimination of funding for in-person support programs, confusion, accessibility issues, and quality issues.

In summary:

Our community is unnecessarily suffering and struggling to figure out how to keep essential lifetime support services going for people and families navigating life with brain injury. It is unacceptable that basic responsibilities and professionalism are being sidestepped and ignored. Therefore, I can see no reason why the Legislative Session would not move quickly to pass these simple updates that would begin to mitigate unnecessary challenge to people and families already marginalized and overly challenged in their day-to-day lives.

The hearing and passing of this bill is a vital step in restoring relationships, and start a conversation between the community, legislature, and state agencies to achieve the goals we believe we all want: adequate, accessible, ubiquitous, and continuous lifetime support for the people in our community living with permanent changes and disability related to brain injury.

Please champion House Bill 2248 in this upcoming 2024 Legislative Session.

<your signature>

Extra Help

The Bill

Learn more about the bill being presented at the 2024 Legislative Session.

Screenshots

A screenshot of the Washington Legislature website for bill comment that highlights the "Verify District" button.
AFTER entering your address, click the “Verify District” button and select all your representatives, otherwise you will not be able to submit the form.
A screenshot of the Washington Legislature website for bill comment that highlights the interface for indicating support and submitting comment.
In Step 3: click “Support” to indicate support and then copy/paste the text from the template into the comment field. NOTE (below) how you can use the widget on the bottom-right of the comment field to make it larger.
A screenshot of the Washington Legislature website for bill comment that highlights an interface for resizing the comment box.
Use the widget on the bottom-right on the comment field to make it larger. This will make it easier for reviewing and/or making any personalization to the comment.