Bucks County Behavioral Health/Developmental Programs Administrator Donna Duffy Grimm (center) and other project stakeholders cut the ribbon at the newly completed Diversion, Assessment, Restoration and Treatment (DART) Center in Doylestown Township, Pa. | Photo Credit: Bucks County
What You Need to Know
Bucks County officials marked the completion of the Diversion, Assessment, Restoration and Treatment (DART) Center in Doylestown Township.
The 23,000-square-foot residential treatment facility is expected to begin accepting residents in the coming month.
The center is designed to serve adults with serious mental illness and co-occurring substance use issues who are involved with the criminal justice system.
At full capacity, the facility can serve up to 28 people across three program tracks, county officials said.
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DOYLESTOWN TOWNSHIP, Pa. – Leaders in Bucks County, Pa., held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at a newly completed residential treatment center intended to help justice-involved adults with serious mental illness and co-occurring substance use issues avoid or reduce time in custody.
County leaders unveiled the Diversion, Assessment, Restoration and Treatment (DART) Center in Doylestown Township on Feb. 25, with the facility expected to begin accepting residents in the coming month.
The 23,000-square-foot DART Center is designed for adults involved with the criminal justice system, with programming focused on treatment and skills development aimed at diverting people from incarceration, reducing days in custody, lowering use of state institutions and reducing recidivism, the county said in a press release.
“We have wanted to do something about this problem — to get people diverted from the criminal justice system,” said Bucks County Commissioner Chair Diane Ellis-Marseglia, LCSW. “But one piece of the puzzle was missing. It was this place.”
The facility includes three tracks: short-term assessment and stabilization (up to eight individuals), a restoration of competency unit for people deemed incompetent to stand trial (up to four) and a community integration track focused on treatment and daily living skills to support a move toward more independent living (up to 16). At full capacity, the center can serve up to 28 people at once.
Bucks County hired the GEO Group to manage day-to-day operations, with oversight from the county’s Behavioral Health/Developmental Programs office.
“Right now, there’s a person, maybe more than one, who doesn’t even know that the DART Center exists,” said Dr. Mathew Abraham, GEO’s senior director of treatment and program development. “That person is going to find their way here, and when they do, they will walk through a door that says, ‘we see you, you are worth all of this.’”
The DART Center sits on the grounds of the former Women’s Community Corrections Center. Construction began in late 2023, with architecture services from USA Architects, general contracting work performed by Magnum, Inc., engineering by Carroll Engineering and Windward, electrical work by the Farfield Company, mechanical services by Integrity Mechanical, Inc., plumbing services by Vision Mechanical, fire protection work by Guy M. Cooper Mechanical and construction management by Jingoli.
The total projected construction cost is about $19.8 million, funded mostly with federal and state dollars, with about $1.8 million from the county’s general fund.
County officials described DART as part of a broader set of initiatives aimed at strengthening behavioral health responses tied to the justice system, including the Human Services Co-Responders Program, which embeds social workers in police departments. The county said the co-responder program launched in 2020 with the Bensalem Police Department and has since expanded to more than two dozen departments. In partnership with the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas, the county has also established specialized court programs, including Recovery Court, Wellness Court and Veterans Treatment Court.
This article is based on a press release published by Bucks County on Feb. 27, 2026.