CALIFORNIA TO EXPAND BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CARE IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY
Project Will Serve 3,650 Foster Youth Annually
SACRAMENTO — On May 16, 2025, the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) and Sycamores celebrated the groundbreaking of Sycamores' Children's Crisis Continuum Program, a new behavioral health facility in Altadena. This transformative project will target gaps in the crisis continuum for foster youth across Los Angeles County, with the aim of addressing crises early to avoid escalation in care. DHCS awarded Sycamores more than $2 million for the project through
Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastructure Program (BHCIP), Round 5: Crisis and Behavioral Health Continuum.
Groundbreaking for Sycamores' Children's Crisis Continuum Program
BHCIP is a key component of Mental Health for All, California's ongoing commitment to expand behavioral health services for all Californians. With the passage of Proposition 1,
even more behavioral health treatment facilities will be funded and built in 2025 and 2026.
Just days earlier, on May 12, DHCS awarded
$3.3 billion in competitive grant funding through the Bond BHCIP Round 1: Launch Ready awards. This historic investment is funding
124 projects across 42 counties to create or expand 214 behavioral health facilities across California. This investment will result in 5,077 new residential treatment beds and 21,882 new outpatient slots for mental health and substance use disorder treatment, bringing essential behavioral health services closer to the Californians who need them most, including those in the foster care system.
"We're working to ensure foster youth with significant mental health needs are supported with the services they need," said DHCS Director Michelle Baass. “Organizations like Sycamores are essential to transforming how we respond to urgent behavioral health challenges. By bringing compassionate, community-based care directly to children and youth in need, they exemplify a behavioral health system that meets people where they are with dignity, support, and hope."
SYCAMORES' CHILDREN'S CRISIS CONTINUUM PROGRAM: This project will target gaps in the crisis continuum specifically for foster youth by creating a psychiatric health facility with eight beds and a crisis stabilization unit with 10 slots, projected to serve 3,650 individuals annually in an outpatient setting. This project will help support youth living in the community who are experiencing a crisis to avoid the need for a higher level of care in more restrictive settings. The programs are designed to give youth and caregivers tools to manage their crisis, including skill-building, psychiatric monitoring, psychiatry, therapy, case management, and medication management.
“With the groundbreaking of Sycamores' new children's crisis programs, our organization will be in the unique position of meeting the urgent mental health needs of thousands of children and youth in crisis throughout Los Angeles County," said Debra Manners, Sycamores' President and CEO. “Considering Sycamores' long-standing reputation for providing compassionate, life-changing care, we are honored to be able to expand our services with the opening of our programs."
WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT: More than 1.2 million adults in California live with a serious mental illness, and 1 in 13 children has a serious emotional disturbance. Also, 82 percent of Californians experiencing homelessness reported having a serious mental health condition, and 1 in 10 Californians meet the criteria for a substance use disorder. Additionally, shortages of behavioral health treatment sites contribute to rising rates of homelessness and incarceration among people with mental health disorders.
Through BHCIP, DHCS awards eligible entities funding to construct, acquire, and expand properties and invest in mobile crisis infrastructure to further expand the range of community-based behavioral health treatment options for people with co-occurring mental health treatment needs and substance use disorders. BHCIP is addressing historic gaps in the behavioral health care system to meet the growing demand for services and supports throughout the lifespan of people in need. DHCS has awarded $1.7 billion in BHCIP competitive grants.
ABOUT BHCIP ROUND 5: CRISIS AND BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CONTINUUM: BHCIP Round 5: Crisis and Behavioral Health Continuum was developed, in part, through a statewide needs assessment that identified significant gaps in available crisis services. This assessment showed the need for a better system of crisis care to reduce emergency department visits, hospitalizations, and incarceration. The 33 awards, totaling $430 million, are being used to build and expand crisis care and behavioral health facilities statewide and will serve vulnerable Californians of all ages, including Medi-Cal members. Please see the BHCIP website for more information about grant recipients and additional details about all BHCIP funding rounds.