The vendor responsible for running two Santa Barbara County facilities that house and assist clients with mental illnesses declared bankruptcy in late April, forcing county supervisors to quickly approve replacements before clients were released.
On May 8, Anka Behavioral Health notified the county that it had filed for bankruptcy on April 30 and would discontinue services in the county at the end of May, County Counsel Michael Ghizzoni said during a special meeting on May 28.
“There were subsequent written communications on May 17 and May 24 from Anka to the county including the statement that neither Anka staff nor essential services will be available at any Anka facility beginning June 1,” Ghizzoni said.
Anka has contracted with the county since 2015 to run a 10-bed crisis residential house in Santa Barbara and a 12-bed crisis residential house in Santa Maria. The company was also anticipated to operate a new 10-bed facility in Santa Maria that will open this fall. According to a staff report, a crisis residential house is a facility that offers residents with mental illnesses a place to live while recovering from their illnesses.
At the May 28 meeting, supervisors approved two contracts totaling more than $4 million for vendors to operate the crisis residential houses from May 28, 2019, through June 30, 2020. According to the meeting’s staff report, Crestwood Behavioral Health will operate the facility in Santa Barbara, while Telecare Corporation will operate the existing and future facilities in Santa Maria.
Anka also runs facilities in numerous other California counties, including San Luis Obispo and Ventura, according to the meeting’s staff report.
“Their bankruptcy filing created a statewide disruption in service delivery requiring the county to act immediately to find replacement providers,” the staff report states.
This article appears in May 30 – Jun 6, 2019.