Enriched Residential Care Program

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The Enriched Residential Care (ERC) Program, administered by the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (LACDMH), was established to facilitate the placement of clients who require 24/7 care and supervision into licensed residential facilities in order to help them remain stably housed. Licensed residential facilities, which include Adult Residential Facilities and Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly (commonly known as Board and Cares), can be an especially critical housing resource for LACDMH clients who are homeless, leaving an institution such as a hospital or a Institute for Mental Disease, on conservatorship or at risk of becoming homeless due to the need for a higher level of care.

Through the LACDMH-ERC Program, approved clients receive the financial support necessary to obtain and maintain housing at a licensed residential facility including funds for rent, personal & incidental (P&I) expenses, and enhanced services that clients may need due to their mental illness. Referrals are accepted from LACDMH Directly-Operated and Contracted agencies providing services to clients in need of the care and supervision provided by a licensed residential facility.  Referrals from DMH’s homeless outreach teams, Public Guardian, Full Service Partnership programs and DMH’s Intensive Care Division are prioritized for admission the LACDMH-ERC program. Due to program capacity LACDMH-ERC program is currently only able to accept referrals for clients who are newly moving into a licensed residential facility.

Brilliant Corners serves as the fiscal intermediary between LACDMH and the licensed residential facility and is responsible for issuing payment to the licensed residential facility as well as providing housing-related case management services to all LACDMH ERC Program clients.

ERC Program Guidelines, Procedures and Forms

CBEST

 

Board Motions and Stakeholder Process

On September 11, 2018, Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors issued a Board Motion addressing concerns around the closure of licensed residential facilities across the County that serve clients with mental illness with Social Security Income (SSI). The motion highlighted the fact that these facilities are severely underfunded, operating at a rate, set by the state of $35 per day per SSI resident, which has not kept up with ever increasing operational costs. This Board Motion directed Department of Mental Health, Department of Health Services, and Department of Public Health to begin a body of work to engage stakeholders in order to better understand the crisis that was facing these facilities and the resources needed to preserve these valuable community-based housing placements.

Following this initial Board Motion, the Department of Mental Health began an ongoing stakeholder process, which produced a report entitled, “Sustaining a Vital Permanent Housing Resource: Analysis and Stakeholder Input to Support Adult Residential Facilities and Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly in Los Angeles County,” which was released in July of 2019. Since that time, DMH and DHS have continued to be engaged in work to support licensed residential facilities. The Board motions and Board Memos below provide more information about the County’s ongoing work to support the survival of licensed facilities.

 

Guidelines for Congregate Living Facilities and COVID-19 Resources

On March 19, 2020 Los Angeles County Issued the Safer at Home order in order to slow the spread of COVID-19. The County understands that congregate living setting such as licensed residential facilities are especially vulnerable during the current health crisis. Below are guidelines and resources related to addressing COVID-19 in licensed facilities and congregate settings.