Hillsides Launches New Mental Health Program for Children on Its Century-Old Campus in Pasadena

Hillsides, a multi-service nonprofit agency with services throughout Los Angeles County, is launching several new programs on its 17-acre residential campus in Pasadena, California. Collectively, these programs will be referred to as HillsidesCares, and will include Residential Treatment, a Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP), and an Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) for children and youth experiencing mental health challenges and co-occurring disorders.

These new programs, intended for families with commercial health insurance, will augment Hillsides’ existing array of outpatient programs located throughout the county. “We now offer a full spectrum of behavioral health services, from the most intensive to the least intensive clinical services. Our goal is to provide the exact level of treatment for each youth based on their individual needs,” said Stacey Roth, Hillsides President and Chief Executive Officer.

Hillsides’ century old campus has long served as a residential care facility for foster children and youth placed in the custody of The Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). However, recent legislation imposed by The Federal Family First Prevention Services Act is placing an emphasis on the use of more resource family homes for foster children while limiting the use of congregate care facilities, like Hillsides. While this has forced Hillsides to drastically reduce its beds for DCFS children, it has presented an opportunity for the organization to repurpose its facilities and rise to another imminent challenge: the children’s mental health crisis.

Nationwide, the flood of adolescents in mental health crisis has overwhelmed emergency departments and underscored the inadequacies of our pediatric mental health system. The pandemic has fueled concerns about access to adequate care, leaving emergency departments to assume the role of de facto psychiatric crisis units struggling to treat and manage youth who need specialized care.

“The timing couldn’t have come sooner for these new programs as these past couple of years have really created a shift in children’s mental health due to the pandemic and what used to be manageable for families has become unbearable for many,” said Casey Meinster, Hillsides Senior Clinical Director.

The HillsidesCares program will respond to this crisis by offering a full continuum of specialized mental health treatment services for children and youth ages 6 – 17. “We recognize there is no one-size-fits-all approach to treatment,” said Roth. “Our campus provides the perfect backdrop for families who need the support and guidance of our outstanding care. We are fulfilling an important need during one of the hardest times in our country.”

Hillsides is dedicated to healing children and young adults, strengthening families, and transforming communities through quality comprehensive services and advocacy. Headquartered in Los Angeles, the agency serves almost 17,000 children and families in Southern California throughout more than 40 sites, including school-based mental health offices in Los Angeles, Pasadena, and Baldwin Park. Foster care and adoptions services are offered in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties. Hillsides has been a designated Trauma Informed Care Agency by the National Council for Behavioral Health. For information specific to HillsidesCares program, please visit www.HillsidesCares.org HillsidesCares Admissions Team can be reached at 323.316.9830. To learn more about Hillsides, please visit www.Hillsides.org