Adult and Youth Mental Health Beds in Kansas

This memo provides a description of the type of mental health beds available to adults and youth in Kansas, as well as the number of beds available across the state as of October 2023.

Mental Health Beds for Adults

Psychiatric Hospital Treatment

In Kansas, the highest level of care for adults experiencing severe mental illness is provided in psychiatric hospitals. The Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS) oversees state-run psychiatric hospitals and licenses private psychiatric hospitals.

Pursuant to the 1990 Mental Health Reform Act,¹ the first step for admission to a state hospital is to be screened by a community mental health center. The Care and Treatment Act for Mentally Ill Persons² provides guidance for admission to the state hospitals. Generally, those admitted to state hospitals are individuals who exhibit severe symptoms that cannot be safely and effectively treated in the community.

Osawatomie State Hospital Campus³

Founded in 1866, Osawatomie State Hospital (OSH) provides inpatient psychiatric care to individuals in the eastern third of the state. In 2015, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) decertified OSH due to staffing shortages and other issues. In 2017, CMS recertified Adair Acute Care (AAC), an independent facility on the OSH campus that met CMS certification requirements. OSH and AAC operate separately, with OSH operating 116 state-licensed-only beds and AAC operating 60 CMS-certified beds. Between OSH and AAC, the campus has 176 combined state- licensed and CMS-certified beds.

Larned State Hospital⁴

Founded in 1914, Larned State Hospital (LSH) serves individuals who have been voluntarily or involuntarily committed, individuals charged with felony crimes, and sexually violent predators. The Psychiatric Services Program (PSP) serves the same population as OSH, individuals who are voluntarily or involuntarily committed for treatment. The PSP operates 90 CMS-certified beds, 60 of which are dedicated to long-term, residential treatment of patients and 30 of which are designated as a crisis stabilization unit.

Proposed State Hospital in Sedgwick County

The 2022 Legislature appropriated $15.0 million SGF to KDADS⁵ for the construction of a hospital in Sedgwick County, contingent upon the conclusions of a study by the 2022 Special Committee on Mental Health Beds and the affirmative recommendation by the State Finance Council. The 2022 Special Committee on Mental Health Beds⁶ met during Fall 2022 and recommended the State Finance Council release the funds to KDADS. On December 21, 2022, the State Finance Council released the appropriated funds to KDADS to begin the process. Additionally, Sedgwick County received $25.0 million for the project from federal COVID-19 relief funds distributed by through the Strengthening People and Revitalizing Kansas (SPARK) process.⁷

In conjunction with Sedgwick County, KDADS presented a plan to construct a 50-bed facility within the county, proposing 25 beds be designated for voluntary admissions and 25 beds for forensic competency evaluations. In March 2023, KDADS signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Sedgwick County concerning construction of the proposed hospital.⁸ Pursuant to the MOU, Sedgwick County will construct the hospital and turn over the facility to KDADS upon completing construction.

In August 2023, Governor Kelly signed Executive Order No. 23-05 establishing the South Central Regional Psychiatric Hospital Advisory Panel which is tasked with planning, designing and constructing the proposed state hospital according to the recommendations of the 2022 Special Committee on Mental Health Beds.⁹ ¹⁰ The Panel must submit an interim report to the Sedgwick County Commission and to the Governor by January 15, 2024, with a final report due by June 30, 2024.

Private Psychiatric Hospitals

Private Psychiatric Hospitals (PPHs) include freestanding hospitals, similar to the state psychiatric hospitals, and psychiatric units in community hospitals. PPHs allow individuals to receive a state hospital level of care in their community. There are 303 PPH beds across the state.

State Institution Alternatives Program¹¹

PPHs can participate in the State Institution Alternatives (SIA) program to provide state hospital level of care in an individual’s community. Patients would otherwise be transferred to OSH or LSH, depending on the individual’s location in the state. Five private psychiatric hospitals are enrolled in the SIA program to provide inpatient psychiatric services to adults. As of September 2023, the SIA program has served 1,318 adults.

Short-term Community Treatment

Crisis Stabilization Centers

The purpose of a Crisis Stabilization Center (CSC) is to provide short-term treatment to prevent a long-term stay in psychiatric hospital. CSCs provide urgent care in the community to voluntary patients for up to 72 hours. If a CSC is unavailable, individuals experiencing a mental health crisis often seek treatment in an emergency room, are held in a jail cell, or remain untreated. There are 115 CSC beds across the state. Additionally, CSC beds are being developed in Dodge City and Pittsburg.

Crisis Intervention Centers

Similar to CSCs, Crisis Intervention Centers (CICs) would provide urgent care in the community for up to 72 hours; however, CICs would provide treatment to involuntary patients pursuant to the Crisis Intervention Act. CICs are not yet active; KDADS and the Office of the Attorney General are in the process of drafting rules regulations. Upon approval of the regulations, 62 CIC beds are anticipated to be available across the state.

Licensed Adult Mental Health Beds Across Kansas, as of October 2023

City	State Psychiatric Hospital		Private Psychiatric Hospital	Crisis Intervention Center		Crisis Stabilization Center
Kansas City	–		49	30	**	30
Lawrence	–		–	32	**	–
Leavenworth	–		–	–		20
Manhattan	–		–	–		6
Olathe	–		48	–		–
Osawatomie	176		–	–		–
Overland Park	–		40	–		–
Shawnee	–		20	–		–
Topeka	–		16	–		26
Northeast	176		173	62		82

Southeast	–		–	–		–

Salina	–		15	–		2
North Central	–		15	–		2

Hutchinson	–		8	–		–
Newton	–		40	–		–
Wichita	25	*	95	–		25
South Central	25		143	–		25

Hays	–		–	–		4
Northwest	–		–	–		4

Garden City	–		10	–		–
Larned	90		–	–		–
Southwest	90		10	–		–

STATEWIDE TOTAL	291		341	62		113

* Beds will become available upon completion of the state hospital in Sedgwick County.
** Beds will become available upon approval of rules and regulations for crisis intervention centers.

Mental Health Beds for Youth

The first place for a youth to receive mental health treatment in Kansas is in a community mental health center (CMHC). If the child needs more intensive care than can be provided safely and effectively in the community, the child may be treated in one of the following placements.

Inpatient Acute Beds

Kansas does not operate any state-run inpatient psychiatric facilities for youth with mental illness. Instead, inpatient acute psychiatric care is provided by private hospitals. There are 200 children’s inpatient acute beds across the state.

SIA Beds

Private psychiatric hospitals providing inpatient acute psychiatric services can enroll in the SIA program. SIA providers receive patients based on daily capacity. The SIA program has served 1,149 children.

Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facilities¹²

Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facilities (PRTFs) provide out-of-home residential psychiatric treatment to youth whose needs cannot be effectively and safely met in a community setting. Prior to receiving services in a PRTF, all community-based services must have been exhausted. Community-based services include Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) under waivers, such as the Serious Emotional Disturbance waiver and the Intellectual and Developmental Disability (I/DD) waiver. A PRTF is not a permanent or long-term placement. The programs provide active treatment in a structured therapeutic environment. Admission to a PRTF begins by requesting PRTF services from the child’s Medicaid managed care organization (MCO). The child is then assessed for medical necessity. The MCO must render its decision within 14 days, and the child’s guardian can appeal if the request for PRTF services is rejected. The child is then placed on a waitlist for a PRTF if medical necessity is met. There are currently 385 PRTF beds across the state.

Qualified Residential Treatment Programs

Qualified Residential Treatment Programs (QRTPs) provide residential treatment under the federal Family First Prevention Services Act. QRTPs treat children with serious emotional or behavioral disorders or disturbances. QRTP services are provided to foster children only with the goal of allowing foster children to successfully transition back to family care. QRTPs are tasked with:

Facilitating family participation in the child’s treatment, to the extent involvement is appropriate and in the child’s best interest;
Facilitating outreach to family members, documenting how outreach is made, and maintaining contact information for known family and fictive kin of the child;
Documenting how family members are integrated in treatment, including post-discharge, and how sibling connections are maintained;
Providing discharge planning and family-based aftercare support for at least six months post-discharge; and
Having 24/7 access to care from registered or licensed nursing staff and other licensed clinical staff.

There are currently 123 QRTP beds across the state.

Licensed Youth Mental Health Beds Across Kansas as of October 2023

City	Children Acute Inpatient	Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facilities	Qualified Residential Treatment Facilities
Kansas City	48	48	16
Lawrence	–	–	10
Olathe	–	111	–
Overland Park	64	–	–
Paola	–	65	–
Topeka	20	60	24
Northeast	132	284	50

Parsons	–	–	12
Southeast	–	–	12

Salina	–	42	16
North Central	–	42	16

Newton	–	41	–
Wellington	–	–	16
Wichita	54	–	29
South Central	54	41	45

Hays	14	18	–
Northwest	14	18	–

Southwest	–	–	–

STATEWIDE TOTAL	200	385	123

by Dayton LaMunyon
Fiscal Analyst
785-296-4405

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