Co-Respond Mobile Crisis Team Pilot Project

Sante will create a Cecil County Co-Responder Mobile Crisis Team. This team will pair together one specially-trained law enforcement officer with a behavioral health clinician to respond to individuals in crisis and/or severe emotional distress within the community. This team will provide immediate, community-based face-to-face intervention for individuals experiencing acute behavioral health crisis and severe emotional distress. Sante currently operates a community-based mobile crisis team in Cecil County that consist of a clinician and a peer. While this model works well for many individuals in crisis, Santé has found that police often become the first contact for individuals experiencing severe crisis. Individuals often call 911 in a behavioral health emergency and police are the first dispatched to the scene. In addition, police can encounter individuals in crisis or discover individuals in crisis during routine patrol. A Co-Responder Mobile Crisis Team allows for not only immediate response via 911dispatch but also allows the team to respond to higher acuity calls where individuals maybe be experiencing significant levels of agitation or in the event that there are potential criminal justice concerns.