Santa Barbara County is moving forward with a Santa Maria behavioral health project that would expand treatment capacity for people living with serious mental illness.
The California Department of Health Care Services plans to give the county $20 million to help the Department of Behavioral Wellness build two new, $28-million community residential treatment facilities.
The two 16-bed facilities would be built on county-owned land next to the Northern Branch Jail.
Behavioral Wellness officials said facilities would serve people with serious mental illness who have spent time in prisons, jails or youth correctional facilities, also known as justice-involved populations.
Justice-involved populations are at a “higher risk for injury and death than the general public,” according to state officials.
Completion is currently slated for fall 2029. County officials said they are using an expedited design-build process in hopes of opening sooner.
Suzanne Grimmesey, chief of strategy and community engagement for Behavioral Wellness, said the new facilities are intended to provide mental health treatment in the least restrictive setting possible.
Grimmesey said people with serious mental illness often find themselves involved with the criminal justice system because their conditions may influence the decisions and behavior that lead to police encounters.
The facilities will offer care that meets residents’ needs while helping keep them out of the hospital, jail or prison.
A concept rendering shows the interior of one of two planned community residential treatment facilities in Santa Maria. County officials said the project is designed to provide a home-like treatment setting for justice-involved people who are living with serious mental illness.
Credit: Courtesy rendering
“It’s not a locked facility, but it is set up in a way that all their services are right there,” she said.
Time in the facilities cannot be used “in exchange for time in jail,” she clarified.
The planned facilities will also serve as a step-down option for people leaving acute psychiatric hospitalization who no longer need that level of care, but are not yet ready to return home, Grimmesey said.
She said community residential treatment offers a supportive setting where residents can continue receiving care for several months before transitioning back into the community.
She said the goal is to divert these individuals away from jail and into a specialized care setting that understands the unique nature of their conditions and helps uncover the root causes of behavior.
“It’s a homelike environment. It doesn’t look like you’re coming to an institutionalized setting,” Grimmesey said.
The proposed $20 million award is funded through the state’s Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastructure Program, which is backed by Proposition 1.
The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors will consider the funding at a future public meeting.
Grimmesey said the county would contract with an outside provider to operate the facilities. Officials plan to issue a request for proposals seeking an operator experienced in serving justice-involved populations.
“The goal is providing the best level of care to get people ultimately back in the community and feeling their best,” she said.