Crisis Stabilization Unit (CSU) - Adult

Ventura County Behavioral Health has issued a Request for Proposals to solicit qualified providers to operate a 24-hour, 7-day-per-week, 365-day-per-year Crisis Stabilization Unit (CSU) for adults aged 18 and older at a county-owned facility located at 3150 E. Los Angeles Avenue, Simi Valley, California. The CSU will provide immediate therapeutic crisis intervention services on a short-term basis for individuals experiencing acute psychiatric symptoms or Welfare and Institutions Code 5150 designations, with the goal of stabilizing crises and preventing unnecessary psychiatric inpatient hospitalization. Services include crisis assessment and psychiatric evaluation, emergency medication services, evidence-based crisis interventions, peer mentoring, care coordination, and linkage to community resources for both voluntary and involuntary patients. The initial operating capacity shall be four beds with planned expansion to eight beds within the first 12 months of operations. Contractors must comply with California Code of Regulations Title 9, Section 1840.348 staffing requirements, including physician on-call availability, minimum licensed nursing staff ratios, and licensed mental health professionals at a ratio of at least one per four beneficiaries. Bidders must submit separate rate proposals using both hourly and daily rate structures for 4-bed and 8-bed operations, incorporating all costs for staffing, technology, equipment, supplies, facility operations, clinical services, insurance, and pre-operational activities; the County will provide the facility building, major systems, utilities, and facility maintenance through a separate lease agreement. Evaluation criteria include proven performance, compliance with contract terms, organizational support capability, requirements and specifications, and cost reasonableness. The deadline for submitting questions is March 6, 2026; intent to bid must be indicated by March 17, 2026; and proposals are due by 5:00 p.m. on April 6, 2026. Contract award notification is anticipated by May 11, 2026, with Board of Supervisors approval required by June 23, 2026, and operations commencing July 1, 2026. The initial contract term is three years with potential for two additional one-year extensions subject to budgetary approval.

The RFP does not identify specific set-aside designations or restrictions limiting eligible organization types, indicating that any qualified provider may respond regardless of disadvantaged enterprise status. No incumbent vendors or current contractors are identified in the procurement documents. Contractors must establish and maintain Medi-Cal provider enrollment and obtain DHCS certification for the Simi Valley facility before service commencement; all contractors must utilize the County's Electronic Health Record system and bear associated costs including user license fees. The County retains all billing rights and will collect revenue directly from Medi-Cal, Medicare, commercial insurance, and other payers; however, the contractor bears responsibility for eligibility verification, insurance verification, and ensuring commercial insurance is billed prior to Medi-Cal billing. The contract is not-to-exceed with compensation based only on services actually rendered and invoiced monthly in arrears; specific budget amounts are not disclosed in the RFP documents, but the County Board of Supervisors approval is required for all contracts exceeding $200,000. Contractors must obtain comprehensive insurance coverage including general liability ($1,000,000 combined single limit/$2,000,000 aggregate), workers' compensation, professional liability ($1,000,000 each occurrence/$2,000,000 aggregate), and cyber liability ($1,000,000 per occurrence/$2,000,000 aggregate), with the County named as additional insured.