Dialogue and Conversation: What’s Happening with Behavioral Health in DC,

Elissa Brooks

Since our inception in 1980, McClendon Center has been dedicated to preparing people recovering from serious mental illness to improve their quality of life. Our goals are to provide our clients with the skills to: live as independently as possible; maintain their physical, as well as mental, well-being; obtain safe and affordable housing; secure employment; manage their finances; and encourage, improve, and increase their social interactions. Our services include psychiatric counseling, medication management, Day Program, Patient Discharge Coordination (PDC), and community support. In addition, we have partnered with Deaf-REACH to provide specialized Day Program groups for 10 individuals who are Deaf or hard-of-hearing. 

In the past year, more than 2,000 adults diagnosed with severe mental illness came to McClendon Center for some type of treatment including 700 hospitalized individuals assisted by our PDC team members, 1,200 individuals receiving direct services and treatment through our Core Services Agency (CSA), and 152 clients in our Day Program. In addition to their mental illness, many of our clients have at least one co-occuring medical condition such as hypertension, diabetes, hepatitis C, HIV/AIDS and asthma. A majority of our clients represent the disenfranchised and vulnerable population in our community – with most living below the DC poverty line and with inadequate or no access to primary health care. Our constituency is predominantly African American (88%) and 43% are 55 or older.

McClendon Center has consistently scored highest amongst the 29 DC providers on the Department of Behavioral Health’s Provider Scorecard, which evaluates DC community-based mental health providers for quality of services, adherence to Federal and District regulations and policy requirements as well as financial compliance. In 2014, McClendon Center earned the only five-star rating, and has earned five-star scores annually thereafter. It was noted by the Office of Accountability that our score was due in part to effective record-keeping to drive quality care, efficient management, and our use of full-time staff members rather than contractors, thereby fostering an environment where therapists buy into our mission.