County briefs Board on Crisis Receiving Center: beds, licensing, Medicaid waiver and construction timeline

County staff gave a two-part update on the Crisis Receiving Center (CRC) Complex at Worth Avenue, describing the facility’s program model, vendor operations, licensing and construction timeline.

Lisa Madron, Chief Transformation Officer, said the CRC Complex will include an adult CRC with 16 23‑hour observation units and 16 crisis-stabilization beds and a youth CRC with the same configuration, plus eight co-located outpatient or community programs. The complex will operate every day and provide emergency stabilization, a 23‑hour observation option, a residential stabilization component if needed and withdrawal management. Madron said Connections Health Solutions, a national crisis-services vendor, will provide treatment services.

Madron reviewed the project history: Board directives in 2021 to explore crisis-stabilization resources, state funding and county purchase of the Worth Avenue building in 2023, selection of Taft Construction as general contractor and demolition beginning in January 2024. She said a key funding and reimbursement complication emerged in August 2024 when the Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS) designated the CRC an “Institute for Mental Disease” because it exceeds 16 beds; that designation prevents full Medicaid billing for treatment services without a CMS waiver. Madron said DMAS submitted a waiver application to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in December 2024 and that CMS review historically can take 18–24 months. She said, however, that the facility could open without the waiver because the Board and the State provided match funding: “Each of you providing the $5,700,000 to make up the estimated 11.4 anticipated full Medicaid revenue,” Madron said, and that the county anticipates occupancy permit by August 2025 with licensing and a ribbon-cutting scheduled for Sept. 8 and community tours Sept. 9–10; staff indicated an anticipated opening the week of Oct. 6.

Facilities and Fleet Management Director Matt Villareal gave a construction update. He reviewed an accelerated timeline of site selection, demolition and redesign and said the county truncated typical A&E and design timelines to about 11 months. Renovation work began in January 2024; Villareal said Taft Construction is the contractor, that the county expects an occupancy permit in August 2025, and that staff have been completing interior finishes, systems commissioning, furniture and punch-list items.

Villareal detailed major renovation work: large-scale demolition, new underground utilities (sewer, water, electrical), installation of columns and floor cuts, and concrete work. He described a parking-lot and lighting issue where an outside electrical contractor found and repaired the fault and allowed replacement of fixtures with LEDs for under $200,000 — a savings the project manager estimated at roughly $400,000 compared with an initial contractor quote. Villareal said the parking lot would be repaved before or shortly after opening and that furniture was being installed in community-services spaces.

Supervisors asked about risk of further delays; staff said they hoped for no additional delays but noted that DMAS/CMS waiver timing is a longer process and that state licensing after occupancy permit can take up to 90 days but is being prioritized for an expedited review. Supervisors thanked project staff for cost savings and fast timelines and reiterated interest in the planned ribbon cutting and tours.