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Ventura County accepts $93.7 million in Prop 1 awards for two behavioral‑health facilities
Summary
The Board of Supervisors unanimously approved accepting two Proposition 1 funding awards totaling $93,700,000 to build a 38‑bed Mental Health Rehabilitation Center in Camarillo and a 16‑bed psychiatric health facility in Simi Valley; county officials said the projects will allow more residents to receive care locally.
The Ventura County Board of Supervisors on Jan. 27 approved staff recommendations to accept two Proposition 1 funding awards totaling $93,700,000 to expand the county’s behavioral‑health infrastructure.
Dr. Loretta Denering, Ventura County’s behavioral health director, told the board the larger award will fund a 38‑bed Mental Health Rehabilitation Center (MHRC) on the county’s Lewis Road campus in unincorporated Camarillo. She described it as “a secure facility providing intensive psychiatric treatment and rehabilitation services to our Medi‑Cal‑eligible patients” and said the county expects the MHRC renovation to be completed in May 2028.
A separate award of just over $34 million will fund a new 16‑bed psychiatric health facility on vacant county land in Simi Valley, intended for short‑term inpatient care and to improve patient flow from crisis stabilization units and the county medical center. Denering said the psychiatric facility’s completion is expected in February 2029.
County staff said both projects will be staffed by multidisciplinary teams providing 24‑hour care. Denering noted many patients currently travel out of Ventura County for this level of care and said the projects aim to allow “a portion of them to come home to receive services in county, and to be close to their family members and loved ones.”
The board approved the measure on a motion by Supervisor Long, seconded by Supervisor Parvin. The vote on staff recommendations was recorded as unanimous.
The projects were presented as part of Prop 1 round‑one program funding; county staff cautioned that the state sets strict timelines for expenditure of those funds. The board did not adopt additional policy changes at the hearing; project permitting, design and staffing plans will proceed under existing county project and regulatory processes.
What’s next: staff will continue design and permitting work, proceed with procurement consistent with the Prop 1 timelines, and return to the board with implementation details as projects advance.
