Company Profile
Community Psychiatric Clinic
Company Overview
Community Psychiatric Clinic is a dually-licensed, state-certified and nationally accredited non-profit behavioral healthcare organization. We provide a comprehensive array of recovery-oriented mental health and chemical dependency services throughout Seattle and King County. Each year, CPC helps thousands of individuals and their families.
Established in 1953, CPC has earned a reputation for excellence by helping our community members successfully cope with everything from serious mental illness and chemical dependency to the daily stress and challenge of life. Our treatment builds on each client's personal strength to help them achieve their recovery plan.
Behavioral health problems, such as mental illness and chemical dependency, are more common than any other health problem today, affecting one in five Americans and their families each year.
Our mission at Community Psychiatric Clinic is to enhance the quality of life of our clients by delivering a full continuum of community-based behavioral healthcare services. We strive to assure access to all in our community who seek care.
Since 1953, CPC has helped thousands of Seattle and King County residents. Today, we have grown from a clinic to a comprehensive non-profit behavioral healthcare organization that serves 5,000 people each year with a variety of services, including:
•Community-based care for individuals with psychiatric disabilities
•Counseling for children, adults, couples and families
•Vocational programs
•Chemical dependency programs
•Housing services
Company History
CPC has a rich history of serving the behavioral health needs of residents of the Seattle/King County area. Established in 1953, we have been a quality provider of mental health, chemical dependency and related services for more than 55 years.
1950s
•Soon after the National Institute of Mental Health was established in 1946, the Seattle Section of the National Council of Jewish Women began work to establish a clinic to provide low-cost psychiatric services for adults unable to afford private care, which was the number one unmet need in Seattle.
•1953 - Community Psychiatric Clinic for Adults was incorporated by the State of Washington.
•1954 - CPC receives its first funding through a $28,700 grant by the Community Chest of Seattle and King County, which later becomes the United Way of King County.
•1955 - A minimum annual budget of $38,750 is established based on the National Association of Mental Health's standard for setting up community psychiatric clinics.
•1955 - When CPC opened its doors at 411 Fairview Avenue North, 50 clients received services the first day. Five months later, CPC had 438 clients and the average fee was $2.00 per session.
•1957 - Additional funding from the Community Chest establishes a children's division. "For Adults" is deleted from clinic's name and Community Psychiatric Clinic becomes the official name. CPC now serves 525 adults and 124 children.
•1958 - CPC's annual operating budget is $115,143 and the agency employs 16 full-time staff.
1960s
•President John F. Kennedy establishes the Community Mental Health Centers Act of 1963, in which he wrote: "We need a new type of health facility, one which will return mental healthcare to the mainstream of American medicine, and at the same time upgrade mental health services."
•1965 - Congress granted federal funding for the establishment of community mental health centers. CPC continues to expand its services, including an increased use of groups and brief contact treatment models, and the "Walk-In Service" is developed.
•1967 - CPC is one of six agencies cited in the King County Mental Health Plan to develop a comprehensive community mental health center.
1970s
•1971 - A 90-bed inpatient facility operates from 1971-1974 at Camp Armac in Bothell for the provision of aftercare services for drug addiction, establishing the Alcohol and Drug Division and CPC's first foray into residential services.
•1972 - CPC employs 52 staff members.
•1974 - The Crisis Outreach Team begins and operates for five years. Other CPC services now include adult, child, geriatric, day treatment, alcohol, drug and emergency walk-in. Four treatment sites are in operation throughout the Seattle area.
•1977 - Helen Schwedenberg, ACSW, is appointed the first Executive Director of Community Psychiatric Clinic, and retires from CPC 17 years later. The operating budget grows to $1.7 million, and centralized screening and billing procedures are put in place.
•1979- The State Mental Health Division puts a computer at every community mental health center to execute a statewide management information system. CPC's clientele grows to 1,497 with 92% below the median income and 42% having a previous psychiatric hospitalization.
1980s
•1980- All clinic operations are centralized. The first "clubhouse" model of treatment in Washington state, developed in collaboration with Fountain House in New York, opens as Wallingford House. A children's day treatment program, Stepping Stones, begins operation and runs for 10 years.
•1981 - The Board adopts the goal to "expand programs for the seriously disturbed into residential care facilities."
•1982- CPC begins operating Keystone, a congregate care facility in Fremont, making CPC the first mental health center in Washington State to operate a residential facility.
•1983 - Funds from Referendum 37 are received through the Seattle Housing Authority to develop two cluster houses. CPC partners with Phinney Ridge Lutheran Church, Queen Anne Lutheran Church, and University Unitarian Housing Group to develop homes in the community.
•1985 - The Stepworks Vocational Program is established to provide a full range of employment services to adults with mental illness.
•1986 - The first HUD 202 new construction building opens as Arbor House, a 15-unit, three story independent living apartment building. Additional office space is leased at 4120 Stone Way North.
•1988 - After seven years of planning, the El Rey opens to provide 60 beds of residential treatment services for the homeless mentally ill in downtown Seattle, and receives national recognition.
•1989 - The newly constructed Laurel House, a 20-unit apartment building for clients, opens.
1990s
•1990 - CPC is selected by the King County Mental Health Division to be the lead agency for adult, publicly funded mental health services in the North-Central region. CPC operates as the lead agency for five years and sub-contracts some services to other mental health centers in the region.
•1992 - CPC employs 249 staff members. Services are developed across the region.
•1994 - Access to Community Care and Effective Services and Supports (ACCESS), a five year federally funded demonstration grant to CPC, begins. Annually, over 300 homeless persons are engaged, with 100 placed into long term mental health services and housing over the five-year span.
•1995 - Shirley Havenga is hired as Chief Executive Officer. An affiliation agreement between CPC and Mental Health North is reached to evaluate feasibility of a merger. Mental Health North was incorporated in 1966 and was initially known as Shoreline Mental Health Services.
•1996 - CPC becomes licensed and certified by the State Department of Alcohol and Substance Abuse to provide chemical dependency services at outpatient sites. Oak Manor, a new 15-unit HUD 811 apartment building, opens.
•1997 - Community Psychiatric Clinic officially merges with Mental Health North on July 22, culminating three years of restructure. Two more housing facilities are constructed and opened in 1997, Coach House and Heather Apartments.
•1998 - CPC's programs receive first National Accreditation from CARF. CEO Shirley Havenga is appointed to Western State Hospital Advisory Board by Governor Gary Locke.
•1999 - King County Executive Ron Sims and Seattle Mayor Paul Schell join in celebrating the opening of Harbor House and the Dutch Shisler Sobering Support Center.
2000s
•2000 - CPC is selected by the State Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration to implement a pilot project for juvenile offenders with co-occurring disorders.
•2001 - CPC receives its 2nd consecutive three-year CARF accreditation and is the recipient of the Lilly Reintegration Award for housing. Bridgeway Recovery Program receives the 2001 King County Exemplary Service Award for Systems Integration for the development of integrated treatment for persons with mental illness and chemical dependency. The State Division of Development Disabilities selects CPC to operate a residential respite program at Cascade Hall.
•2002 - CPC is recognized as a national leader in developing housing resources for the mentally ill population and operates and/or manages over 700 beds in the community. CPC provides a comprehensive array of mental health, chemical dependency, vocational, housing, and residential services to over 5000 persons, and employs 300 staff.
•2003 - CPC celebrates its 50th Anniversary; County Executive Ron Sims declares August 14, 2003 "Community Psychiatric Clinic Day." The City of Seattle officially transfers ownership of the El Rey residential treatment facility to CPC. CPC receives the King County Mental Health, Chemical Abuse and Dependency Services Division's annual Exemplary Service award for housing.
•2004 - CPC's Stepworks program receives grant from the Workforce Development Council to make Stepworks the King County contractor designated to serve the homeless mentally ill through the Homelessness Intervention Project. CPC receives its third consecutive three-year CARF accreditation.
•2005 - After 4 years of planning, construction and fundraising CPC opens the 12-unit Albion Place apartment building in January and The Willows, a 15-family transitional housing program serving mentally ill and chemically dependent homeless single mothers with young children, in May. The Willows is the first program of its kind in western Washington; CPC receives a grant from Washington Families Fund to support operations at the Willows for 10 years. That same year, CPC is selected to provide services through a new federal initiative, Access to Recovery, designed to provide resources and support to individuals recovering from substance abuse.
•2006 - CPC re-opens Wallingford House, which had been converted into a day treatment center in the late 1980's, as a clubhouse-model program. The club serves 275 members in 2006. By 2007, Wallingford House receives accreditation through the International Center for Clubhouse Development.
•2007 - CPC receives its fourth consecutive 3-year CARF accreditation. CEO Shirley Havenga is elected to the Board of Directors of the National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare.
•2008 - CPC moves its administrative offices from Wallingford to a newly-purchased building in Lake City, and also adds new client services teams to serve the Lake City community.
•2009 - CPC receives a major SAMHSA grant to develop and operate a new program for veterans with dual disorders, including housing, treatment and a veterans' resource center. CPC also begins serving high-need families through the new MIDD-funded Wraparound program. CEO Shirley Havenga is re-elected to the National Council board.
•Today, CPC serves over 5,000 people annually including children, youth, adults, older adults and families. We have 6 outpatient treatment sites, six 24-hour supervised residential sites, and more than 35 semi-independent and independent houses and apartment buildings. Our programs include mental health, chemical dependency and co-occurring disorder treatment, case management, day treatment, vocational services, and housing and residential services. We have specialized programs serving veterans and adults and children involved in criminal justice proceedings. We operate one of only four certified clubhouses in western Washington. Our programs are funded by federal, state, county, city and local funds and private sources.
Benefits
CPC offers excellent employee benefits, including:
•Competitive salaries
•Medical insurance with prescription drug benefits; agency-paid dental insurance.
•Three weeks paid vacation and two weeks paid sick leave your first year, with vacation time increasing annually up to a maximum of four weeks
•11 paid holidays
•Section 125 Flexible Spending Account
•Short- and Long-Term Disability and Life Insurance
•403(b) pension plan, with matching contributions