Community-Based Behavioral Health Services

Residential Care

Our mission for the Residential Care Facilities is to provide a safe treatment-oriented environment designed to assist residents in leaning to deal with the symptoms of their mental illness and make personal adjustments necessary to live as independently as possible. The Broadlawns Residential Facilities are dedicated to providing high quality, client centered care. 

McKinley and Oakland offer residents a safe, friendly and healthy environment to assist in improving their physical and mental health. The residential care facility team includes:

  • Nurses
  • Certified Medication Aides 
  • Social Workers
  • Residential Treatment Worker 
  • Service Coordinators
  • Office Personnel

Together, the care team provides resident with a holistic, comprehensive, yet individualized treatment experience that is focused on their growth and recovery.

Who is Eligible for RCF Placement:

Clients eligible for service at the facility must meet the following criteria:

  • Age 18 or older

  • Have a serious Axis I psychiatric illness that is chronic in nature

  • Admitted on a voluntary basis

  • Guardian consent must be obtained prior to treatment being provided by HCBS

  • Must be able to maintain personal safety and not be in imminent risk of harm to themselves or others

  • Must be free of acute untreated or unstable medical issues but require 24-hour supervision

  • Must be able to provide their own basic self-care tasks such as eating, drinking, toileting, bathing and transferring independently or with minimal assistance, as well as being able to check blood sugars and administer own insulin

  • Have a source of funding in place (County of legal settlement and/or lead agency approves placement)

  • Is eligible for SSI or SSDI, or is currently receiving benefits

  • Voice a willingness to actively participate in their program plan, self-care and environmental maintenance activities, and comply with physician's orders

  • Be stabilized on medication

  • Have deficits in one or more of the following areas: social functioning, self-care, cognition, medication compliance, impulse control. 

Referral Process:

Call (515) 282-4555 or (515) 282-8149 for referral information

Referrals can be from any community resource, including but not limited to hospitals, Managed Care Organizations (MCO's), case mangers/service coordinators.

Admission will be based on the following criteria:

  • Polk County legal residency, funding source in place, greatest need (client is homeless, or will be homeless if denied placement), diagnosis
  • Stated willingness to participate in the treatment program and daily routines of the group home including abiding by the client rights and responsibilities and is a "good fit" with the current clients. 
  • Admission recommendations will be shared with staff and staff person will be asked to assist with the new admission. 

Services Provided:

For chronically mentally ill individuals:

  • Provide residents with a safe environment 
  • 24 hours a day in a community setting 
  • Medication administration/education/monitoring

Therapeutic Activates:

  • To prevent further hospitalizations 
  • To assist residents in developing functional patterns of behavior 
  • To increase living and social skills
  • To assist residents in identifying options/choices and the consequences of their decisions
  • To prepare residents for discharge/follow-up

Important Aspects of Service:

  • Each resident will play an active role in their treatment. This includes, but is not limited to, treatment planning, treatment participation, and discharge planning
  • Assessments (initial and ongoing) including physical health, current level of functioning, and need for service. Individual program plan (IPP) developed by an interdisciplinary team to address short-term transitional or tong-term residential needs
  • Focus on specific needs as identified in the assessment in the areas of academic, community living skills, self-care skills, medication management and vocational services as needed/desired by the resident. 

Facilities

Broadlawns Medical Center operates two care facilities that provide 24-hour care and treatment for adults who have severe illness. 

Transitional RCF

1212 E. McKinley Ave., Des Moines, IA 50315

RCF/PMI
1812 Oakland Ave., Des Moines, IA 50314
 

Service Coordination

Service Coordination services are county-funded coordination services that are provided for individuals who have been diagnosed with mental illness or chronic mental illness. Service coordination is available to those who do not have Medicaid or who are not involved with an integrated services agency project. As long as these individuals reside within Polk County, payment for services is covered through Polk County funding. 

For an Intake Appointment, please call (515) 282-6770.

Supported Community Living (SCL)/Home Based Habilitation (HBH)-Hourly

SCL/HBH-hourly services are provided to persons contending with chronic mental illness. The SCL/HBH services are designed to develop a support system for individuals as they learn skills that will enable them to live, work, and socialize in the community. The scope of these services are individualized, based on need, and are abilities focused. Individuals who receive SCL/HBH-hourly services are assigned a Care Coordinator within the Integrated Health Home project and/or have a Broadlawns Medical Center Service Coordinator who will coordinate these services.

For more information, please call (515) 282-6770.

Community Support Services (CSS)

Designed for individuals who benefit from ongoing, practical support, this service helps strengthen daily stability and independence in community life.

Our team works alongside individuals to build skills, solve problems, and address mental health symptoms that affect daily functioning. Support is flexible and based on individual needs, with services provided in the home, office, or community.

Support may include help with:

  • Maintaining a safe and healthy living environment
  • Accessing transportation and community resources
  • Building and maintaining supportive relationships
  • Coordinating care with mental and physical health providers
  • Budgeting, shopping, and managing benefits
  • Crisis planning and intervention when needed

Levels of support

  • Low intensity: 2–4 contacts per month, with at least one in-person visit
  • High intensity: 5 or more contacts per month, with at least four in-person visits

Each plan is reviewed at least quarterly by a qualified behavioral health provider to ensure services remain appropriate and effective.

Please fill out the Community Support Service Referral form and email it to: CBServices@broadlawns.org.

Referral Form

For more information in regards to Community Support Services (CSS), please call (515) 282-6770

Peer Support Services

This service is grounded in shared experience and mutual understanding. Individuals are connected with certified peer specialists who bring lived experience with behavioral health or substance use recovery.

Peer support is non-clinical and relationship-based, offering encouragement, advocacy, and practical guidance without judgment. The focus is on trust, empowerment, and supporting individuals as they define and work toward their own goals.

For more information on PSS, please call (515) 282-6770

Intensive Psychiatric Rehabilitation (IPR)

IPR supports individuals experiencing disabling mental illness as they work toward greater independence and improved quality of life.

Services are goal-driven and centered on building skills and support that help individuals succeed in areas that matter most to them.

For more information on IPR, please call (515) 282-6770.

Our Approach: Choose. Get. Keep.

  • Choose: Identify a meaningful personal goal
  • Get: Build skills and connect with resources to reach that goal
  • Keep: Maintain success and satisfaction over time

Areas of focus may include:

  • Living: Stable, independent housing
  • Learning: Education and skill development
  • Working: Employment or volunteer opportunities
  • Social: Relationships and community engagement  

FOCUS Elementary - Middle School and FOCUS High School 

The FOCUS elementary-middle and FOCUS - high school programs are available at Kurtz Opportunity Center and Provide support to school-aged children (3rd - 12th grades) with mental illness and emotional considerations that inhibit their ability to thrive in traditional setting includes their classroom, home or the community. 

Within a therapeutic classroom environment and through outreach activities, the FOCUS program offers an intensive psychiatric resource to children experiencing severe emotional difficulties who need access to resources beyond what a traditional community school is able to provide. The FOCUS programming attends to the needs of the individual child and assists them with successfully functioning among their family, peer and the community. 

Read the success story of Roman, FOCUS Program Graduate

For information on the FOCUS or FOCUS II programs, please email: jshipley@broadlawns.org.

  Linden Allen, LISW
  Katy Beary, LISW
  Patty Hayes, LISW
  Jennie Shipley, LISW
  Tamela Visalden, LMHC