The county’s Department of Health and Human Services has been awarded a two-year, $3.7 million grant to provide support for Mobile Crisis Outreach Teams and the Crisis Center, expanding intervention services to those with mental illness or a disorder due to substance abuse.
“Our goal is to provide safe, effective crisis care that diverts people in distress from emergency departments and jail by expanding the continuum of crisis care services that match people’s clinical needs and connect them to services that will prevent future crises,” County Executive Marc Elrich said in a press release.
The Crisis Center offers telephone and walk-in services 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Currently, the county has one MCOT, considered the most efficient and effective way to reach the 25,000 people needing these interventions services each year. The county plans to add three more teams.
According to the release, the goals of project include:
- Increasing the number of behavioral health or substance use crisis intervention requests responded to by the MCOTs by 80%
- Increasing the number of clients who receive health assessments and infectious disease testing and vaccinations
- Maintaining contact with, monitor, and refer 50% more crisis clients to ensure they end up in a safe and appropriate service environment or recover from the crisis, and
- Increasing the number of crisis clients diverted from admission to emergency departments and correctional facilities by 10%.
The grant, which totals $3,748,064, was awarded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Montgomery County graphic