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Stabilization and Crisis Unit (SACU)

The Stabilization and Crisis Unit (SACU) is a 24-hour crisis residential program operating under the guidance of ODDS. SACU services are accessed through regional or county Community Developmental Disabilities Programs.

Redesign project

About SACU

We serve individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD), often with co-occurring mental health issues, whose support needs exceed the supports offered or provided by community-based residential programs. Individuals may come from family homes, other community programs, legal institutions or hospital settings. These individuals often enter SACU in crisis, and over time, we work to stabilize and transition them to lower levels of care with the goal of reintegrating them into other community-based settings.

Map of SACU locations along I-5 in OregonSACU operates group homes along the I-5 corridor from Portland to Eugene, serving about 90 individuals. Each home offers varying levels of environmental supports and modifications. This allows SACU to provide services that range from intense crisis-level support needs to lower levels of care that more closely match what is available in other community-based placements. This variety offers flexibility to provide person-centered and individualized supports specific to each need.

SACU's Direct Support Crisis Staff are well-trained and have resources and tools to support people living at SACU. Those resources include specific plans on how to best support a person in crisis. Staff exhaust those options before calling for support from emergency services.

Supports offered

  • Health and medical supports
  • Nursing supports
  • Behavioral supports
  • Crisis outreach supports
  • Counseling supports
  • Psychological supports
  • Personal hygiene
  • Recreation and leisure supports
  • Community integration
  • Building social skills
  • Life skills training
  • Educational supports
  • Budgeting and financial supports

Supports not offered

  • Mandate that individuals live in our homes
  • Force medication compliance
  • Administer psychotropic PRN (as needed) medications
  • Use any pain compliance techniques
  • Use of any physical techniques outside of the Oregon Intervention System

Mandatory reporting

Program employees serving adults and/or children with developmental disabilities are mandatory reporters of abuse and neglect (ORS 43.765).

Now hiring

Are you interested in supporting Oregonians with intellectual and developmental disabilities? SACU is currently hiring. 

Learn more:
Oregon State Jobs website

Quick links

Union information

Contacts

SACU Administrative Offices
4760 Portland Rd N, Ste 102
Salem, OR 97302

Phone: 503-378-5952
Fax: 503-378-5917

  • Winston Brown, Interim Director
  • Bryan Wier, Deputy Director
  • Cindy Duran, Nurse Manager
  • Aaron Hall, Clinical Services Manager

Redesign project

Late last year, we shared our plan to look closer at the mission and structure of the Stabilization and Crisis Unit (SACU). This review is important. It will help us make sure people get the right services to live the lives they want.

Governor Kotek's 2025-27 Recommended Budget asked the Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS) to create a new plan for SACU. The new plan will refocus SACU back to its original purpose: a short-term crisis stabilization program that better supports individuals and the staff who do such important work every day.

A project to redesign SACU is under way. ODHS hired Human Services Group (HSG) to work with the I/DD community. Together, all of us will assess the program and recommend a new plan for SACU. The Governor wants the plan to:

  • Refocus SACU into a short-term program for stabilization.

  • Look at how many homes SACU needs for this new approach.

  • Improve the program to offer better, more personalized services to help people in crisis.

  • Ensure services support individuals' return to their community when they're ready.

We'll send the proposed plan to the Governor and the Oregon State Legislature in mid-April 2025. They will review the plan. They'll decide what changes to make to SACU. The earliest any changes could happen is July 2026.

How to participate: Join a focus group

HSG will talk to SACU residents, staff, families, advocates, unions, lawmakers and community partners to learn from their experiences. They'll get feedback from former SACU residents who now live in their home communities. This feedback will inform our proposed new plan for SACU.

These interviews and focus groups will be in March 2025. To participate, call ODDS at 503-945-9780 or send an email to dd.directorsoffice@odhsoha.oregon.gov. We accept all relay calls.

We have heard how scary this news is to some in the SACU community. We will support SACU residents and staff throughout this process. Our mission continues to be the safety, health and well-being of all at SACU.

We will use this web page to keep the public and I/DD community members updated on the process. We will also post resources on this page.

Feb. 19, 2025, ODDS director message: “Project begins to reimagine SACU"

Dec. 5, 2024, ODDS director's message: "Our services and the Governor’s Recommended Budget”

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

If you have questions, please send them to odds.questions@odhs.oregon.gov.