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The OC Health Care Agency’s (HCA) Mental Health and Recovery Services (MHRS) has been awarded $27,659,059 from the state as part of California’s initiative to grant funding for new or existing facilities that help children, youth, transition-age youth, and perinatal individuals with a mental health and/or substance use disorder (SUD). This funding will support an increase of 56 facility beds for substance use disorder inpatient treatment in Orange County. Funding will provide 32 new residential treatment beds (16 male/16 female), in addition to 24 perinatal beds dedicated to serving pregnant or parenting mothers.
“This essential funding will enable Orange County to stand up much needed substance use disorder services in a region of our County that has limited treatment options and high-need,” says Dr. Veronica Kelley, Chief of Mental Health and Recovery Services. “The ability to add residential substance use disorder treatment beds for male and female youth and pregnant and/or parenting women with their children will be a game changer for so many in our community.”
With the $27.6 million awarded by the state, Orange County can serve the target population under an optimal setting that includes:
- Outpatient alternatives and wellness centers
- Urgent treatment and inpatient beds
- Peer respite programs and social rehabilitation models
An increase in services allows alternatives to incarceration, hospitalization, homelessness, institutionalization and will aid in closing the treatment gap for youth.
“The HCA couldn’t be prouder of our MHRS team and their effort to secure funding that will help this at-risk population,” said Dr. Clayton Chau, HCA Director. “These services are key to the success of our youth and facilitating meaningful treatment for them,” he said.
Orange County currently has one provider for SUD residential treatment targeting women who are pregnant and/or parenting and no SUD beds for adolescent males. Funding will provide the additional beds needed and increase capacity for individual youth served to 486 annually.
So far $480.5 million has been awarded toward 54 projects to improve California’s behavioral health infrastructure for children and youth. Grantees include cities, counties, Tribal entities, nonprofits, and for-profit organizations statewide. For more information about these grants, as well as other California Department of Health Care Services’ rounds of funding, please visit here.
