The demand for behavioral health services in Kern County has increased. To meet the needs of individuals and families requiring services, the planned Youth Crisis Stabilization Unit and Family Resources Center (CSU-FRC) will be located on 2-acres of an approximate 5-acre parcel of land to be owned, or otherwise controlled, by Kern County in Bakersfield, California. A Youth Crisis Stabilization Unit and Family Resources Center will provide acute short-term inpatient treatment in secure, locked, non-hospital environment providing a home like recovery setting. The CSU serves voluntary and involuntary (5150) individuals experiencing a behavioral health crisis. The CSU will provide crisis intervention and stabilization to our youth and their families 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The CSU will provide immediate access to in-person behavioral health services lasting less than 23 hours. This unit will provide a safe and secure locked environment for youth who are experiencing an acute psychiatric crisis. The CSU will provide effective high-quality services that are culturally appropriate, inclusive of family, individualized, educational, and supportive for the youth of our community. The FRC will provide an innovative approach to a mental health urgent care, providing services to youths experiencing a behavioral health crisis, without the heightened level of care at the CSU. This will allow young people to receive the level of care needed in the least restrictive environment. The building design of this facility must begin with the understanding that each component is unique, and that the design responses must recognize and accommodate present and future requirements in the designs. The design is to be a single-story mixed-use building with a 16-bed Youth CSU on one side and a voluntary FRC on the other. Both programs will provide crisis behavioral health services and increase the capacity for serving youth who are experiencing a behavioral health crisis, thus reducing unnecessary stays in hospital emergency departments. Both programs will be housed in an approximate 15,000 square foot building.
