"Many types of insurance pay for treatment at Passages Ventura, he said. But just because it's less expensive than the high-end Malibu center, it's not cheap. Prentiss said Passages Malibu costs clients $88,500 a month. Passages Ventura costs either $32,500 or $16,500 a month, depending on the amount of individual therapy a client receives.

Prentiss hopes the center will appeal to more insurers once it completes the long process of receiving Joint Commission behavioral health accreditation.

The Joint Commission, an independent nonprofit organization that accredits and certifies U.S. healthcare programs, will not release information on accreditation applicants or even verify whether they have applied until after the process is complete, a spokeswoman said. But Passages Ventura officials said they should be done with the process this month.

As a residential detox facility, Passages Ventura is licensed with the state Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs for up to 90 residents. In April, renovation of a wing of the center will be complete, expanding its capacity from 40 beds to 90.

With the expansion, the business expects to grow to more than 100 employees. The center now has about 75 employees and 12 independent contractors. Jobs include therapists, maintenance workers, administrators, nurses and cooks.

Passages Ventura reports an annual payroll of $3 million and expenditures of $268,000 in 2010 with county businesses for services such as catering. That doesn't include money spent by clients on weekend excursions to restaurants and local shopping, such as trips to The Oaks mall in Thousand Oaks."