Board approves $2 million to finish crisis receiving center; opening pushed to October

The Prince William Board of County Supervisors voted to allocate $2,000,000 to complete construction work on the county's Crisis Receiving Center (CRC), and board members asked staff for a fuller update on construction and operational timelines.

Board members said the additional money will pay for remaining site work, fixture changes and safety fencing. Matt Villareal, director of facilities and fleet management, told the board, "We are seeking $2,000,000 to finish out on the project. This will cover we have about a million dollars of site work that we need to complete and we have, about 400 or so thousand dollars that we have to change, some bathrooms and make them have a we have to have a proper ratio of patients to, showers, and so we have to change these bathrooms to multi use." Villareal listed other items the funds will cover, including fencing around generators, switchgear and patient exterior spaces.

The board pressed staff for schedule clarity. Lisa Madron of the Transformation Management Office said, "Once we get occupancy in August, then the licensing to be able to have the contractor connections operate the CRC and have our co located CS services there. It can take up to 90 days. We are hoping that to be expedited, and we are anticipating an opening October, the week of October 6." Deputy County Executive Elijah Johnson added program constraints: the Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS) has submitted a waiver application to CMS that must be approved for Medicaid reimbursement of youth services; until CMS approval, Medicaid reimbursement is not guaranteed.

Supervisors who raised concerns said costs have increased and that the project needs a single, clear timeline and a projection of remaining gaps. "The cost of the crisis receiving center is growing rapidly by millions," Supervisor Weir said, and urged staff to provide detailed updates. Supervisor Vega asked for a briefing on operational and financial impacts and requested a future meeting focused on construction and operational timelines.

County staff agreed to return with a construction timeline and an operational schedule, and to notify the board if the DMAS-to-CMS waiver process changes the county's reimbursement assumptions.

Ending: The board approved the $2 million request as part of the consent agenda and directed staff to return with a timeline and operational update prior to full occupancy. Staff said occupancy is anticipated August 2025 and licensing/DMAS/CMS steps make October 2025 the initial target week for opening, contingent on regulatory approval and any further construction issues.