With an expanding mission and service, the Kern County Mental Health Department is changing its name to Behavioral Health and Recovery Services, or BHRS.
“About 1 in 5 people are going to have a mental disorder that will benefit from treatment,” said Dr. Bradley S. Cloud, deputy director of BHRS, during the March 15 episode of “First Look with Scott Cox.” “We know from our own experience, but also national studies, that a large percentage of those people will also have a substance abuse issue.”
The change is also to emphasize the recovery process through various means, including access to the ample offerings at the Consumer Family Learning Center, which offers a wide range of programs and services for those in recovery.
Roger Perez, the public information officer for the agency, said the work on the renaming, along a rebranding, took about a year to complete.
“This has been going on for over a year,” Perez said. “The one thing I really appreciate about Behavioral Health and Recovery Services is nothing is every quickly thought through. We really think about the consequences of a change like this.”
Just some of the other services that the BHRS provides includes therapy, judicial services, crisis and outreach and workforce development.
BHRS manages all MediCal mental health and substance abuse services in Kern County, and the majority of the clients are beneficiaries of the state-funded program.
