Full Notification

On April 23, 2018, the Kern County Sheriff’s Office opened the new Admission, Evaluation and Stabilization (AES) center within its Lerdo Pre-Trial Facility.  The AES is the first of its kind in California and operates as a triage for felony defendants who have been determined through the court process to be Incompetent to Stand Trial (IST).  Kern County has the second highest number of felony IST defendants of any county in California.  Although the AES primarily serves defendants from Kern County, patients are accepted from several other California counties including Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Kings and Orange County.

Patient Inmates admitted to the AES undergo an intensive psychiatric screening upon admittance in order to assess their status and determine an individual treatment path.  This triage allows AES clinical staff to determine if the patient is treatable in custody, requires placement in a state hospital, or if they are malingering and can be returned to regular custody and continue the court process.  This ensures that those who can be treated locally receive appropriate treatment in a timely manner, which reduces the use of limited state hospital beds for those that truly require them.  
The AES has also had an impact on reducing the wait time for treatment of IST defendants.  IST defendants are admitted to a State hospital in order of their date of commitment.  One year ago, the average wait time for admission to a state hospital was between 100-120 days.  The average wait time for a Kern County IST is now under 40 days.

Medical and mental health services for AES patients are provided 24/7 by WellPath (formerly Correct Care), who were awarded the contract after the request for proposal process.   In April, WellPath achieved accreditation from the Institute for Medical Quality for the services provided in the program.  AES is the first competency program to be accredited under IMQ standards in California.
The program is operated by five program deputies, and supervised by a dedicated Sergeant.  These dedicated staff members work closely with Wellpath staff to supervise patients, facilitate classes, group participation and therapy activities.  The deputies are integral to the treatment of individuals and participate in daily meetings with clinical staff to discuss the current status and progress of each patient as they move through the program.  

The AES can accommodate up to 60 patients at any time.  Length of stay in the program varies for each individual based on their condition and progress, but averages about 55 days. Since opening in April of 2018, the AES has admitted a total of 255 patients.  As of 5/1/19, 200 have been discharged from the program.  153 have been restored to competency, 13 were determined to be non-restorable and 34 have gone on to a state hospital for further treatment.