CWIC: Urgent Behavioral Health: 24 Hour Crisis Walk-in Centers

About the Program

Category: Human Services (Best in Category)

Year: 2010

Crisis Walk-in Centers (CWIC) provide county residents a location that conducts psychiatric assessment and crisis stabilization for those clients who are in acute psychiatric distress or are a danger to themselves or others or gravely disabled. CWIC offer a much needed location for county residents who are in need of emergency psychiatric care 24 hours a day, seven days a week. These centers are staffed by a multi-disciplinary team who focuses on stabilizing the county’s constituents and providing linkage to resources within the community. In collaboration with the Community Crisis Response Teams, the goal of the CWIC is to reduce inappropriate hospitalizations and improve the quality of life for their clients in the least restrictive environment. CWIC, as a program, maintain a 95 percent diversion from psychiatric hospitalization. CWICs are located in Morongo Basin, Victorville and the Central Valley of San Bernadino County. The ability to have alternatives to a locked mental health facility is vital in the remote areas of San Bernadino County. Consequently, this successful collaborative effort between the county and contractors has provided citizens with a needed service.