Mlk Jr. Behavioral Health Center (Los Angeles) | Flagship SUD Treatment

By SoCal Addiction Centers Editorial Team | Last reviewed: | 4 min read Clinically Reviewed

Mlk Jr. Behavioral Health Center — Los Angeles, Los Angeles County

MLK Jr. Behavioral Health Center at 12021 South Wilmington Avenue in Los Angeles is a 99-bed flagship residential facility operating under HealthRIGHT 360 — one of the largest nonprofit behavioral health operators in California. MLK Jr. is one of LA County’s anchor DMC-ODS-contracted residential facilities, serving complex dual-diagnosis populations including patients with serious mental illness plus SUD (SMI+SUD). Meets our four-signal flagship bar: DHCS license, SAMHSA 2025 match, CARF accreditation for Residential Treatment (BH), and multi-LOC framing via the HealthRIGHT 360 operator’s broader network including co-located programs on the MLK Campus.

What makes this facility flagship tier

Our flagship tier requires four independent verification signals. Mlk Jr. Behavioral Health Center clears all four.

DHCS license: active at the time of our most recent review. License number 190728HN, expiration 9/30/2026. Program authorization: residential treatment with detoxification services.

CARF SUD-specific accreditation: see dedicated section below for specific program details.

SAMHSA 2025 National Directory: matched.

Multi-level of care: evaluated against the operator’s program scope, whether across DHCS program codes, CARF-accredited programs, or co-located operator sites.

Clinical program overview

The 99-bed capacity is substantial by LA residential-SUD standards and reflects MLK Jr.’s role in the LA County DMC-ODS system — county-funded residential placement for Medi-Cal-eligible patients who require dual-diagnosis capable, trauma-informed, longer-term residential care. Clinical programming includes integrated psychiatric care for co-occurring mental health conditions, trauma-focused therapy, evidence-based SUD counseling (CBT, motivational interviewing, seeking safety), and aftercare planning coordinated with the LA County Substance Abuse Prevention and Control (SAPC) continuum.

Who this facility is a good fit for

MLK Jr. serves populations that smaller-capacity private-pay facilities often cannot — complex dual-diagnosis, patients with serious mental illness, patients requiring longer-length-of-stay residential stabilization. DMC-ODS contracted; Medi-Cal-eligible patients access through the LA County SAPC system at publichealth.lacounty.gov/sapc. Commercial-insurance patients may also be accepted depending on payer contract; confirm during intake.

Location and geography

12021 South Wilmington Avenue is in the South LA corridor, serving the densely populated South LA communities where SUD treatment demand is high and per-capita capacity has historically been under-built. The MLK Campus geography also co-locates multiple HealthRIGHT 360 and Behavioral Health Services programs, enabling clinical coordination across the SMI+SUD continuum. See our Los Angeles County regional guide for full sub-regional context.

CARF accreditation

Mlk Jr. Behavioral Health Center holds current CARF International accreditation for SUD-specific programming — specifically: Residential Treatment (BH). CARF accreditation is a voluntary third-party clinical quality review covering program design, clinical outcomes measurement, health and safety, governance, and continuous improvement. It is not a regulatory requirement for California SUD treatment operation but signals operator investment in an independent quality-assurance process that many DHCS-licensed facilities do not pursue.

Families evaluating Mlk Jr. Behavioral Health Center can confirm current CARF accreditation status and program scope directly at the CARF provider search.

DHCS licensure detail

Mlk Jr. Behavioral Health Center operates under DHCS certification 190728HN (Licensed), authorized for residential treatment with detoxification services. Treatment capacity per DHCS records: 99 beds. The license is current through 9/30/2026.

DHCS enforcement records should be checked for any specific facility before admission. Our DHCS license verification walkthrough provides the tool-based methodology.

SAMHSA National Directory

Mlk Jr. Behavioral Health Center appears in the SAMHSA 2025 National Directory of Drug and Alcohol Abuse Treatment Facilities, providing cross-source verification from a federal registry independent of both CARF and DHCS. SAMHSA directory presence is one of the four independent verification signals our flagship tier requires.

Questions about this facility? Call (310) 596-1751

Our editorial team provides framework-based guidance for families evaluating Mlk Jr. Behavioral Health Center or comparing against other flagship-tier options in Los Angeles County and across SoCal. We accept no referral fees from any facility discussed. Calls are informational — not a facility sales line.

Looking for treatment options in your area? We can help point you in the right direction. (310) 596-1751 — or request a callback.