LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — State workers and children’s advocates are criticizing Nevada’s decision to temporarily close Desert Willow Treatment Center, the state’s psychiatric hospital for youth.
Union leaders gathered outside the facility and said more than 100 employees were told the center will shut down for at least six months. Some staff will be transferred, but they said dozens could be terminated as soon as Oct. 25.
AFSCME member and state employee Tara Carter said the timing is difficult for workers.
“Last week, over 100 of our union brothers and sisters received news that their workplace will be temporarily closed, but unfortunately, dozens will be terminated — uncertainties no Nevadans can afford as rent, utilities and grocery costs skyrocket,” Carter said.
Children’s Advocacy Alliance executive director Elisa Caffaretta called the closure a “systemic failure” and said the state is disrupting care for some of Nevada’s highest-need children while laying off trained staff.
“Nevada must prioritize children’s mental health and well-being, not just talk about it,” Cafferata said. “Children, families and workers’ lives are being disrupted. This is a systemic failure that we see all too often in Nevada.”
Assemblymember Erica Roth joined union members and said frontline nurses, therapists and technicians have been raising concerns for years about short staffing, safety issues and constant leadership turnover at Desert Willow. She said workers also offered potential solutions.
“The Lombardo administration had years of warnings and a list of solutions, but it chose not to act. And now the answer is to close the doors,” Roth said. “Closing a facility doesn’t fix this problem. It shifts the burden to the children, their families and the workers who have been trying to fix this all along.”
Roth is calling on the governor’s office to keep workers employed, provide a clear explanation of where each child is being placed and how their treatment will continue, and bring frontline staff into any plan to reopen Desert Willow with safe staffing levels and consistent leadership.
Lombardo’s office responded with this statement, “The safety and well-being of Nevada’s children must come first. Desert Willow Treatment Center has serious, longstanding issues that require immediate action. Continuing to operate the facility as it is would only prolong these problems and put children and staff at risk. This temporary pause gives the state the opportunity to address these issues head-on, strengthen leadership, overhaul the model of care, improve training and make necessary facility improvements.”
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