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Company Which Provides Inpatient Mental Health Services For Santa Barbara County Bankrupt

A company which provides inpatient mental health services for Santa Barbara County has declared bankruptcy, and the county is scrambling to fill the gap. Anka Behavioral Health operates facilities in Santa Barbara and Santa Maria, with another facility under construction. Anka notified the county that it needs to make other arrangements for the patients by May 31st, or it will be forced to release them.

On Tuesday, Santa Barbara County Supervisors are set to consider emergency contracts to keep the facilities operating. The proposal calls for Crestwood Behavioral Health to take over the Santa Barbara operations, and Telecare Corporation the Santa Maria facilities.

Because it's an emergency, the county can act without going through the traditional request for proposals and bidding process.

Anka provides residential care services around the state, so the company’s sudden bankruptcy is providing a major disruption in care.

Lance Orozco has been News Director of KCLU since 2001, providing award-winning coverage of some of the biggest news events in the region, including the Thomas and Woolsey brush fires, the deadly Montecito debris flow, the Borderline Bar and Grill attack, and Ronald Reagan's funeral. 
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