Kedren Health has served as a lifeline for generations of South Los Angeles families. Founded in the wake of the 1965 Watts uprising, the organization provides critical primary care and behavioral health services to thousands of South L.A. children, youth, adults, and families, regardless of their ability to pay.

Today, Kedren Health operates an acute-care psychiatric hospital for children ages 5-12 in the nation’s most populous county, providing vital services to youth facing the highest levels of distress. Kedren’s acute-care hospital specifically provides lifesaving care to those with emotional and behavioral manifestations that can put them at risk of harm or harming others, and otherwise renders them unable to care for themselves. But amid California’s mental health crisis, the need for their services has grown faster than their capacity to meet it. “As seen in the inequities of service and delivery during the COVID pandemic, safety net and crisis care providers like Kedren are unfortunately needed more than ever,” said Kedren CEO Dr. John H. Griffith. 

Kedren is not alone in this challenge. The combination of growing needs and limited resources supporting youth behavioral health is being felt across the state. 

When it comes to building a more effective and equitable behavioral health system for all California young people, the Children and Youth and Behavioral Health Initiative (CYBHI) isn’t waiting on the sidelines. Through the work of the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), the CYBHI’s Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastructure Program (BHCIP): Round 4 Children and Youth grant fund is investing $480.5 million across 54 organizations to expand behavioral health treatment and services in communities facing some of the greatest barriers to care. Examples of recipients of BHCIP Round 4 funding include:

• Encompass Community Services is Santa Cruz County’s largest community-based health and human services provider. Facing surging rates of substance use disorder and overdoses, the county has an urgent need for behavioral health treatment, particularly for youth. Through a $9.4 million grant from BHCIP, Encompass is building the new Sí Se Puede (Yes You Can) Behavioral Health Center in the predominantly Latino city of Watsonville, expanding bilingual treatment capacity and providing young people with a full spectrum of residential and outpatient substance use disorder treatment and family-based services. “Encompass has long dreamed of building a bright, new behavioral health center in Watsonville to reduce barriers to treatment and make personalized, high-quality behavioral health care accessible to everyone in our community,” said Encompass CEO Monica Martinez.
• Kedren Health is expanding its ability to serve South L.A. youth and families, with the help of a $57.5 million BHCIP grant. The funding will enable Kedren to create a whole-person care continuum for children and their families through the South Psychiatric Acute Care Hospital and Children’s Village, which will add acute-care hospital beds while also growing and strengthening other residential, crisis stabilization, transitional housing, and outpatient programs. “Bringing all these services together is critical,” said Kedren’s Chief Strategy and Advancement Officer David Ryu. “Especially for South LA families who don’t have the transportation and financial resources to go to multiple locations or providers to meet their basic needs.” 
• The Yurok Health and Human Services Department provides culturally appropriate, high-quality public and behavioral health services to members of the Yurok Tribe and to families across California’s Del Norte and Humboldt counties. The only youth-supporting behavioral health facility in the area, the Yurok Health and Human Services Department strives to help Native and non-Native youth achieve independence and self-sufficiency and promote healthy, productive communities. Through an $8 million BHCIP grant, the Yurok tribe will build a Community Mental Health Outpatient Clinic with 300 treatment slots, a Community Wellness/Youth Prevention Center with 1,450 treatment slots, an Outpatient Treatment for substance use disorder (SUD) with 27 treatment slots, and a School Linked Health Center with 50 treatment slots. “The new youth center in Weitchpec will serve as a one-stop location,” said Yurok Chairman Joseph James “Our youth will have access to the culturally informed services and self-empowering support they need to lead healthy, productive lives.” 
• Tarzana Treatment Centers, Inc. (TTC) has offered high-quality, cost-effective substance use disorder and mental health treatment to L.A. County youth and adults for over 50 years. TTC provides vital support for underserved communities, such as communities of color, people experiencing homelessness, justice-involved, youth and veterans. With the support of a $2.7 million BHCIP grant, TTC is establishing a new Outpatient Treatment program in Lancaster. This program will provide 100 life-saving treatment slots for youth and their families dealing with substance use disorder – significantly expanding access to much needed outpatient treatment services in the community. “Tarzana Treatment Centers, Inc. is proud to partner with BHCIP grant and Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative to bring additional integrated behavioral health services to youth and families in the Antelope Valley ” said Tarzana President and CEO Albert Senella. “By providing us with the support to open a new Outpatient Treatment program, we will increase access for children, youth, and their families to vital resources to address substance use disorder and mental health issues more readily” Senella added.

Part of California Governor Gavin Newsom’s Master Plan for Kids’ Mental Health, the Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastructure Program will play a vital role in transforming California’s mental health system so that all our state’s young people can access the support they need to thrive. “Too many Californians are struggling with mental illness and substance abuse,” said Governor Newsom in his announcement of BHCIP’s Children and Youth grants. “This funding will support critical mental health and substance use disorder treatment facilities that have committed to serving the diverse range of children and youth covered by Medi-Cal.” 

Every California young person deserves access to high-quality behavioral health resources and support. In communities across the state, the Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastructure Program is helping make that vision a reality and create a more equitable system of care.

 “Kedren’s vision is to eliminate health disparities for all children, youth, adults, and families in South Los Angeles by not only creating and providing greater access to care but delivering it in a holistic and integrated model,” said Kedren CEO Dr. John H. Griffith. “Something which is more possible thanks to the support of the Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastructure Program.” 

Learn more about the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative (CYBHI) and its historic efforts to transform the way California supports children, youth, and families on our website.