Officials are temporarily closing one of Nevada's largest state-run youth psychiatric hospitals, citing the critical need to protect patients, overhaul its treatment system and rebuild its leadership. 

Documents obtained by The Nevada Independent outlined the temporary closure of the Desert Willow Treatment Center (DWTC) beginning Oct. 10. The center is a 44-bed facility in Las Vegas that provides specialized mental health treatment and residential care to youth ages 6-17.

Laura Rich, director of the Department of Human Services, told The Nevada Independent the temporary closure is an urgent response to systemic issues that have gone unaddressed for years. She described the problems as rooted in resource, oversight, accountability and persistent leadership challenges, including the lack of a hospital administrator.

"We came to the decision that we have to fix this for the youth that are in our care," Rich said. "We have a responsibility to take a step back and pause operations so that we can fill critical leadership roles and go back and revamp some of the programming as well."

Lalo Macias, administrator for American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 4041, pushed back against the need to close down the facility to make the changes.

"AFSCME Local 4041 members have raised safety issues at Desert Willow Treatment Center for years, and it should not take disruption to patient care or the lives of employees to make the necessary changes," Macias said in a statement. "Workers have identified issues and solutions — but the state's solution is to temporarily close the facility, creating chaos for patients who need stability and staff who need consistency in an uncertain economy."

Rich said the overhaul includes reviewing everything from policies and procedures to staff training and facility improvements, as well as addressing concerns about staff and patient safety.

"Although this isn't ideal, it's the only way that we can make quick changes," Rich said. "Otherwise, it was going to take a lot longer, and to me, that puts kids at risk for a longer time period, and so this was a necessary reset."

Officials expect the closure to last about six months. 

Rich said the state is still maintaining staffing levels to meet licensing standards. State law also requires that the Competency Restoration Unit, a specialized facility within the center that provides mental healthcare and legal education to youth for court-ordered placements, remains open during the pause. 

"Pausing most DWTC operations is intended to support the safety and well-being of youth in care while the facility addresses concerns about the consistency and effectiveness of treatment," a handout to facility staff said. "During the pause, DWTC will work to strengthen its leadership, operations, and model of care so that it can provide safer, more effective treatment when the general units reopen."

It referred staff to the human resources department with questions about employment status. For staff who are not being kept on, Rich said the department is working with the Division of Human Resource Management to find comparable positions. Staff on probationary status will be laid off. Rich said human resources will work with them to identify potential vacancies statewide.

'A necessary reset'

The temporary closure follows a 2025 state report that found the center was failing at serving its "high-needs" youth clients, saying Desert Willow needed "targeted interventions, specialized programming, and a larger array of community resources." 

State employees at the center have also raised concerns in public meetings and forums about staffing shortages, safety issues, high stress, mandatory overtime and other problems.

During an interim Health and Human Services Committee meeting this summer, Jared Kluesner, a member of AFSCME Local 4041 and a psychiatric nurse at Muri Stein Forensic Hospital, spoke on behalf of a fellow union member at the center who couldn't attend that day.

Kluesner shared how his fellow member was pushed into a room, beaten and stabbed in the neck with a shank by a client. The client, Kluesner said, yelled obscenities and racial slurs at the employee.

He said that mental health technicians are being asked to supervise youth without the tools and skills to do so safely.

"We are not prescribing blame to these youth clients, as they are potentially dealing with severe mental and behavioral issues and deserve the best care available," Kluesner said. "But their well-being and rehabilitation cannot come at the expense of staff and clients."

Macias said in the statement that safety is critical, but emphasized that no worker deserves to be stripped of their job as rent, utilities and grocery costs skyrocket.

"AFSCME members will continue to stand together to ensure our rights are respected as state workers are reassigned or terminated from state service during this transitional period," Macias said.

Where will the kids go next?

In an email to partner organizations, Kimberly Abbott, the administrator for the Division of Child and Family Services, acknowledged that the closure means the treatment center will not have the capacity to admit any youth. 

She said the division intends to work with partner organizations to identify alternative places for youth who require that higher level of care.

Rich said confidentiality requirements prevent her from giving a number of how many children are going to be affected by the change, but staff is working with Medicaid to find "appropriate transitions." 

The census is low to begin with, Rich said, explaining that she and others are not worried about issues with relocating children.

She pointed to the Oct. 10 deadline as giving plenty of time to find placements for youth and explicitly said children will not be sent to Child Haven, a facility that is supposed to be an emergency stopover for kids.

Meanwhile, Rich said the state plans to work with consultants to carry out the overhaul to improve care for youth clients and resources for staff.

"The safety and well-being of these kids are the goal, and we felt that this was the best way to go about it to make sure that we can steer the ship in the way it needs to go, the fastest," she said.