Who We Are

It has been both a challenging and remarkable year for Southwest Behavioral Health. In addition to significant funding reductions in late fall - a result of requiring proof of U.S. citizenship, we continued to encounter strong need throughout our service areas. Our efforts to reduce costs overall without closing vital programs ensured that quality behavioral health treatment reached everyone in need. I have personally been inspired by the sacrifice, creativity and dedication of our staff to continue to deliver excellence despite the revenue cuts.

We also produced some important accomplishments throughout the year. We completed construction and opened the new Buckeye Outpatient Clinic, which continues to experience increases in the area's need. We acquired Citrus Acres, an apartment complex housing up to eight adults with a Serious Mental Illness. We received our fourth consecutive 3-year accreditation from CARF International, and received a tandem 3-year accreditation of our Methadone Services Treatment Program. We began our seventh cycle for Families and Schools Together (FAST), and became the southwest's first FAST training organization. SBH also generated new revenue sources - including a contract to provide services to the commercial sector of managed care - to diversify our funding mix. And for the first time in several years, we reduced overall turnover among employees by 25%. SBH and three other local providers partnered to develop the Maricopa Crisis Response Network (MCRN) under a contract with Magellan. MCRN is responsible for county-wide crisis phone response and manages contracts of several community based crisis services. Under this arrangement, SBH will begin providing facility-based respite services to consumers in crisis.

We also listen to the individual success stories that each of our service recipients share…about how we have enabled them to live more fruitful lives. We experience both pride and humility in sharing this success with our peers and the industry, especially since these stories are the hallmark of why we do this every day.

You can see some stories of success in our 2008 Annual Report.

Southwest Behavioral Health Services (SBH) was established in 1969 as a federally funded program under a partnership known as St. Luke's - Jane Wayland Community Mental Health Center.

A merger acquisition of Community Behavioral Health in 1995 strengthened our position as one of the largest community-based behavioral health providers in the state.

Our agency employs over 400 full-time staff with an additional workforce available from part-time positions and contracts. Staff and volunteers reflect the cultural diversity of the community. SBH is governed by a Board of Directors comprised of approximately 15 community volunteers. Our service area includes the Phoenix Metropolitan area, rural western Maricopa County, and northern Gila County. In addition, we serve some residents of Pinal County.

Historically, SBH has assumed a leadership role in development and delivery of services in the areas of housing, residential care, prevention services, outpatient services to children, incarcerated persons and dually diagnosed adults (SMI/SA).

In September 2000, SBH implemented a contract from ValueOptions as the lead agency of the Southwest Network, a partnership of behavioral health providers. This partnership delivers children's' behavioral health services throughout Maricopa County. It is the first step toward implementing "risk-based" contracts and a provider run service delivery system for all populations.