Grays Harbor County Commissioner Vickie Raines accepted on nationwide Familiar Faces Leadership Network

Grays Harbor County Commissioner Vickie Raines has been accepted into the National Association of Counties’ network to expand data sharing efforts across behavioral health and justice systems.

Grays Harbor Public Health tells KXRO that Commissioner Raines is joining a select group of local officials in the inaugural cohort of the National Association of Counties’ Familiar Faces Leadership Network.

Her appointment is said to be due to “her commitment to improving life outcomes for high-needs residents with complex behavioral health conditions”. 

The Familiar Faces Initiative (FFI): Improving Outcomes through Coordinated Health and Justice Systems was launched in May of this year by the National Association of Counties.

The initiative supports and empowers communities to share data between health and justice systems and coordinate care options for individuals with “complex health and behavioral health conditions who frequently cycle through jails, homeless shelters, emergency departments and other crisis services”. 

Raines currently serves as chair of the Great Rivers Behavioral Health Administrative Services Organization Board, the administrator of behavioral health crisis services for Cowlitz, Grays Harbor, Lewis, Pacific, and Wahkiakum Counties. 

“I am excited to learn from many experts across the country about how their criminal justice, behavioral health, and other community services are working together to identify and provide wrap-around care to those most in need,” said Raines. “We look forward to applying lessons learned to improve our work with local partners to better serve Grays Harbor.” 

Grays Harbor County Public Health Healthy Places Manager Cassie Lentz will be providing staff support to Commissioner Raines.

Lentz currently manages Public Health’s homeless housing, behavioral health and health equity programs and works to coordinate Grays Harbor’s local plans to address homelessness and affordable housing, behavioral health gaps analysis, and jail system of care programs. 

“The Familiar Faces Initiative is a great opportunity to build off of the progress we have made in Grays Harbor through our Community Partner Coalition, Housing Stakeholder Coalition, and Jail System of Care,” said Lentz. “Data collection, sharing, and evaluation are critical to target interventions on a systemic level for the most vulnerable clients who typically cycle through a variety of programs without a positive outcome.” 

As participants in the Familiar Faces Leadership Network, Lentz and Raines will engage with fellow elected officials from across the country who are building similar efforts in their jurisdictions. They will participate in peer site visits to communities with model data-sharing practices and receive technical assistance from FFI Advisory Board members.

Local leaders participating in this network represent jurisdictions ranging in size and geographic location from the City of Issaquah, which has a population of 38,000, to Contra Costa County, California, with a population of 1.2 million.

  • Supervisor Candace Andersen, Contra Costa County, Calif.
  • Commissioner Adriann Barboa, Bernalillo County, N.M.
  • Chair Carlo Esqueda, Dane County, Wis.
  • Commissioner Wendy Jacobs, Durham County, N.C.
  • Sheriff Peter Koutoujian, Middlesex County, Mass.
  • Commissioner Sharon Meieran, Multnomah County, Ore.
  • Mayor Mary Lou Pauly, Issaquah, Wash.
  • Commissioner Vickie Raines, Grays Harbor County, Wash.
  • Commissioner Shannon Reid, Douglas County, Kan.
  • Board Member Susan Schafer, McLean County, Ill.
  • Commissioner Janet Thompson, Boone County, Mo.
  • Mayor Jenny Wilson, Salt Lake County, Utah
  • County Executive David Zook, Cache County, Utah

To see more about the Familiar Faces Initiative, visit familiarfaces.naco.org.