For Oregon families seeking overnight behavioral health respite, a Medicaid benefit does not necessarily translate into available care. Megan Miller, who lives in Eugene, told InvestigateWest that her 8-year-old son has neurodevelopmental needs and that his Medicaid plan technically covers two weeks of “relief” overnights a year. She has never used the benefit because there is nowhere nearby to take him. Instead, she found a Lane County daytime program that offers just a few hours of care one Saturday a month.
Miller’s situation is not unusual in Oregon, where state officials and advocates say there is no statewide funding available for youth behavioral health respite, according to InvestigateWest. The gap became more acute in 2025, when Kairos NW closed Interval House, its youth respite home in Medford, after operating for a decade. The closure left southwestern Oregon with just one respite provider within a three-hour drive between the California border and Eugene — a program located in Grants Pass, 140 miles south of Eugene, the outlet reported.
In its account of the closure, InvestigateWest described Interval House as one of Oregon’s few overnight behavioral health respite providers. Staffed around the clock by trained providers, the home could accommodate up to three children for stays of a few days. The program combined routine activities and structured choices with opportunities to address behaviors, and served about 30 children a year on average, the outlet reported. Some Kairos programs serve more than 700 children.
Funding Cut Before the Closure
InvestigateWest reported that Jackson Care Connect ended operational funding for Interval House, leaving reimbursement tied to occupied beds rather than the cost of keeping the home staffed and ready. Jackson Care Connect said low utilization meant limited funds needed to go elsewhere…