If you or someone you know may be experiencing a mental health crisis, contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by dialing \u201c988,\u201d or the Crisis Text Line by texting \u201cHOME\u201d to 741741.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

\n\t<\/iframe>\n<\/p>\nPhiladelphia police officers Kenneth Harper and Jennifer Torres were in their patrol car sitting at a red light when a call came in over the 911 radio dispatch.<\/p>\n\u201cThis job says \u2018female complaint in reference to dispute with daughter, suffers from bipolar, infant on location,’\u201d Harper read off the computer near the front seat.<\/p>\nThe officers got a little more information from the dispatcher: A mother needed help with her adult daughter who had become combative after drinking alcohol.<\/p>\nIt was a Friday morning. Harper and Torres quickly drove off in the direction of the address they were given just a few miles away. They traveled in a white SUV, absent of any police markings, with a third team member in the back seat, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthgrades.com\/providers\/krystian-gardner-ytgudz6271\">Krystian Gardner<\/a>. Gardner is not a police officer. She\u2019s a mental health clinician and social worker.<\/p>\n\u201cDo we know the age of the daughter?\u201d Gardner asked the officers. She was preparing a list of possible services and treatment options.<\/p>\nAs the team pulled up to a row house in North Philadelphia, the mother was waiting for them outside, on the front stoop. They spent 40 minutes with the family, working to de-escalate the immediate tension, provide the mom with support, and connect her daughter to treatment services.<\/p>\nThe trio returned to the patrol car and got to work documenting what had happened and recording the visit in an electronic database.<\/p>\nOfficer Torres commented on the adult daughter: \u201cIn regards to her mental health, she is taking care of herself, she\u2019s taking her medication, and she\u2019s going to therapy, so we don\u2019t need to help her too much on that aspect.\u201d<\/p>\n\u201cShe\u2019s actually sleeping right now, so I gave her my card and she\u2019ll call us whenever she wakes up,\u201d Torres added.<\/p>\nSoon, the radio crackled with their next call, to a home across town where an older woman with a history of mental disorders had wandered outside naked.<\/p>\nThis visit took longer, over an hour, but had a similar outcome \u2014 help with the immediate mental health crisis, a connection to follow-up services with a case manager, and no arrest or use of force by police.<\/p>\nNew Ways to Respond to Behavioral Health Needs<\/strong><\/p>\nEmergency dispatchers in Philadelphia are increasingly assigning 911 calls involving people in mental health crises to the city\u2019s Crisis Intervention Response Team, which pairs police officers with civilian mental health professionals. This model is called a \u201cco-responder program.\u201d<\/p>\nCities <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2021\/03\/08\/974941422\/6-month-experiment-replacing-denver-police-with-mental-health-teams-dubbed-a-suc\">are experimenting<\/a> with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.durhamnc.gov\/4576\/Community-Safety\">new ways<\/a> to meet the rapidly increasing demand for behavioral health crisis intervention, at a time when <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/03\/30\/nyregion\/nypd-shooting-mental-health.html\">incidents of police shooting<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/opinion\/story\/2023-01-13\/police-killings-mental-health\">killing people<\/a> in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/newshour\/nation\/family-of-colorado-man-killed-by-police-during-mental-health-crisis-gets-19-million-settlement\">mental health crisis<\/a> have become painfully familiar.<\/p>\nBig questions persist: What role should law enforcement play in mental crisis response, if any? How can leaders make sure the right kind of response is dispatched to meet the needs of a person in crisis? And what kind of ongoing support is necessary after a crisis response call?<\/p>\nCity officials and behavioral health professionals often don\u2019t have easy answers, in part because the programs are new and hard data on their effectiveness is scarce. Without a single, definitive model for how to improve crisis response, cities are trying to learn from one another\u2019s successes and mistakes as they build and adjust their programs.<\/p>\nThe Philadelphia Police Department established its Behavioral Health Unit in November 2022 and officially launched the co-responder crisis teams as a main feature.<\/p>\nThe department said its goal is to meet people\u2019s immediate behavioral health needs, avoiding arrests or use of force, if possible. Philadelphia\u2019s program has answered about 600 calls since December 2022 \u2014 and only one case resulted in an arrest as of November 2023, according to city data.<\/p>\nIn about 85% of cases, people experienced one of four major outcomes: They were connected to outpatient mental health and social services, voluntarily entered psychiatric treatment, were involuntarily committed to treatment, or were taken to a hospital for medical care.<\/p>\n\u201cI think the practical experiences that people have had has really opened up a lot of people\u2019s eyes to what the work does, how it\u2019s actually reducing harm to the community,\u201d said <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/kurt-august-b725856b\/\">Kurt August<\/a>, director of Philadelphia\u2019s Office of Criminal Justice.<\/p>\nGive a Social Worker a Dispatch Radio<\/strong><\/p>\nCity officials in Philadelphia looked to such cities as Los Angeles, Houston, and Denver, which have developed their own models over the years. They contacted people like Chris Richardson.<\/p>\nRichardson in 2016 helped found <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wellpower.org\/coresponder\/\">Denver\u2019s co-responder program<\/a>, which pairs police officers with mental health professionals, like Philadelphia\u2019s CIRT program.<\/p>\nDenver residents had been unhappy with the status quo, Richardson recalled. At the time, rank-and-file police officers were the only ones responding to 911 calls involving people in crisis.<\/p>\n\u201cWe just heard a lot of those communities saying, \u2018We wish there was something better,’\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s what kind of gave us that ability to start those conversations and start a partnership.\u201d<\/p>\nGetting buy-in from law enforcement and other emergency response teams took time, Richardson said. Eventually, the co-responder program grew to include all police precincts and several fire departments.<\/p>\nThen, Denver city and county park rangers began requesting the aid of mental health professionals to accompany them while on patrol in public spaces, and during emergency calls.<\/p>\n\u201cAnd then, somewhere in the middle there, we were like, you know, give a social worker a radio. We\u2019re like, why are we sending police to this, in general?\u201d he said. \u201cHow do we take police out of things that don\u2019t need policing?\u201d<\/p>\nDenver then launched a second model, its civilian response program, in 2019. It brings together paramedics and mental health professionals to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kunc.org\/2020-11-17\/in-denver-unarmed-mental-health-workers-respond-to-hundreds-of-911-calls-instead-of-police\">respond to crisis calls<\/a> \u2014 no police officers involved.<\/p>\nNow, Denver uses both models \u2014 the co-responder program with police, and the all-civilian response program \u2014 to cover Denver\u2019s crisis needs. Richardson said both programs are necessary, at least in Denver.<\/p>\n\u201cIt\u2019s a spectrum of care with behavioral health crises,\u201d he said. \u201cSome of it is really low-level. No threats, no safety concerns, no legal issues.\u201d<\/p>\nBut sometimes responders or community members may face serious safety concerns, and that\u2019s when a co-response team that includes police officers is needed, Richardson said.<\/p>\n\u201cWe want to make sure that that person in crisis is still getting taken care of,\u201d he said.<\/p>\nGetting the Right Responders to the Right Call<\/strong><\/p>\nOfficials in Philadelphia want the police co-responder program to work in parallel with the city\u2019s existing network of civilian-only mental health response teams. The co-responder program is dispatched by 911, while the all-civilian program is activated when residents call 988.<\/p>\nThe <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/mental-health\/issue-brief\/taking-a-look-at-988-suicide-crisis-lifeline-implementation-one-year-after-launch\/\">988 system<\/a> launched in July 2022, providing a three-digit number that can be dialed from any phone by people who are suicidal or experiencing a behavioral emergency. Calls are routed to a network of over 200 local and state-funded crisis centers.<\/p>\n\u201cA large percentage of Philadelphians are not aware of 988,\u201d said <a href=\"https:\/\/www.phila.gov\/departments\/department-of-behavioral-health-and-intellectual-disability-services\/\">Jill Bowen<\/a>, commissioner of the Philadelphia Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services. \u201cI like to say that people are born knowing to call 911, kind of come out of the womb and they know to call 911. And we really are trying to reach that kind of level of awareness.\u201d<\/p>\nTo help sort incoming calls, 911 dispatch centers in Philadelphia have been hiring mental health professionals. They can screen calls from people in crisis who don\u2019t need a police response, and forward them to 988.<\/p>\nOther cities and states are also struggling with confusion over how to handle the overlap between 911 and 988 calls.<\/p>\nAlthough 988 is a national network, calls are taken by regional call centers, which are overseen and managed by local governments. The federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration said it is working on \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.samhsa.gov\/find-help\/988\/faqs\">building strong coordination<\/a> between the two services,\u201d but it\u2019s currently up to states and counties themselves to figure out how 911 and 988 work together.<\/p>\nNational data collected one year after 988\u2019s implementation showed that most calls to the service can be handled with conversation and referrals to other services. But 2% of calls to 988 require rapid in-person intervention. In most states, the responding agency is 911, which deploys traditional law enforcement, or co-response teams, if they\u2019re available.<\/p>\nNext Steps: A Safe Place to Go<\/strong><\/p>\nIn states where awareness of 988 is higher, some behavioral health leaders are focused on a lack of continuing care resources for people in crisis.<\/p>\nDuring a July press conference marking one year since 988, Shari Sinwelski, the head of California\u2019s biggest crisis call center, described the ideal crisis response as a three-legged stool: \u201csomeone to talk to, someone to respond, a safe place to go.\u201d The idea was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.samhsa.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/national-guidelines-for-behavioral-health-crisis-care-02242020.pdf\">introduced by SAMHSA<\/a> in 2020.<\/p>\nIn California, 44 out of its 58 counties have some form of mobile crisis response, meaning a team that can travel to someone in need, according to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dhcs.ca.gov\/Documents\/Assessing-the-Continuum-of-Care-for-BH-Services-in-California.pdf#page=83\">2021 survey<\/a> conducted in partnership with the County Behavioral Health Directors Association of California.<\/p>\nHowever, the preparedness of these teams varies significantly. The survey identified that many of them don\u2019t operate 24\/7, have long wait times (up to a day), and aren\u2019t equipped to handle children in crisis.<\/p>\nThe same survey found that around 43% of the state\u2019s counties didn\u2019t have any physical place for people to go and stabilize during and after a crisis. WellSpace Health is California\u2019s second-biggest 988 center, by call volume, and is located in Sacramento County. A few years ago, WellSpace leaders decided it was time to open a crisis stabilization unit.<\/p>\nIn summer 2020, WellSpace unveiled the Crisis Receiving for Behavioral Health center, known as \u201cCrib,\u201d in downtown Sacramento. The center receives people experiencing a mental health crisis or drug intoxication and allows them to stay for 24 hours and be connected to other services. The group says it has served more than 7,500 people since opening.<\/p>\nPhysical locations linked to services, like Crib, are a crucial part of a well-functioning 988 system, said <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nami.org\/About-NAMI\/Who-We-Are\/Meet-Our-Leadership\/Senior-Leadership\/Jennifer-Snow\">Jennifer Snow<\/a>, national director of government relations and policy for the National Alliance on Mental Illness.<\/p>\n\u201cThose crisis stabilization programs are really key to helping somebody not languish in the ER or unnecessarily get caught up in the criminal justice system,\u201d she said.<\/p>\nSnow said it\u2019s too early to know how the nation is progressing overall on building up these kinds of centers.<\/p>\n\u201cThis is something I am dying to know, and we just don\u2019t,\u201d she said.<\/p>\nSnow explained that the crisis care system has roots in law enforcement, so it tends to replicate law enforcement\u2019s decentralized and locally led structure.<\/p>\n\u201cIt makes it harder to look at it from a national perspective and, you know, be able to identify exactly where are these services and where are the gaps in services,\u201d she said.<\/p>\nBuilding additional crisis centers, and hiring enough response teams to respond quickly, at all hours, in more areas of the U.S., would require significant investment. The current system relies heavily on state and local government funding, and more federal support is needed, Snow said.<\/p>\nIn 2022, a group of legislators introduced the <a href=\"https:\/\/cardenas.house.gov\/media-center\/press-releases\/cardenas-leads-introduction-of-bipartisan-988-implementation-act\">988 Implementation Act<\/a> in the House of Representatives. They were able to pass several provisions, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.appropriations.senate.gov\/imo\/media\/doc\/LHHS%20FY%2023.pdf\">including securing<\/a> $385 million for certified community behavioral health clinics, which operate 24\/7 crisis care, and $20 million for mobile crisis response pilot programs.<\/p>\nThe bill was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/118th-congress\/house-bill\/4851?s=1&r=2\">reintroduced in 2023<\/a>, with the goal of passing the remaining sections. A significant provision would force Medicare and Medicaid, as well <a href=\"https:\/\/www.psychiatrictimes.com\/view\/the-whole-continuum-of-behavioral-health-care-reintroduction-of-the-988-implementation-act\">as private health insurance<\/a>, to reimburse providers for crisis services.<\/p>\nThis article is from a partnership that includes <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.capradio.org\/\">CapRadio<\/em><\/a>, <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/whyy.org\/\">WHYY<\/em><\/a>, <\/em><a href=\"http:\/\/npr.org\/shots\">NPR<\/em><\/a>, and KFF Health News.<\/em><\/p>\n<aside class=\"meta-authors meta\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSimone Popperl: <\/span> \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/news\/article\/police-response-mental-crisis-calls-988\/mailto:spopperl@kff.org\">spopperl@kff.org<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<section class=\"block--category-tag-list \">\n<div class=\"category-tag-list__content-wrapper\">\n<h3 class=\"block--category-tag-list__title\">\n\t\t\t\tRelated Topics\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t<a class=\"category-tag-list__contact-link\" href=\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/contact-us\/\"> \n\t\t\tContact Us\t\t<\/a> \n\t\t<a class=\"category-tag-list__tip-link\" href=\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/tips\/\"> \n\t\t\tSubmit a Story Tip\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If you or someone you know may be experiencing a mental health crisis, contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by dialing \u201c988,\u201d or the Crisis Text Line by texting \u201cHOME\u201d to 741741. Philadelphia police officers Kenneth Harper and Jennifer Torres were in their patrol car sitting at a red light when a call came […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2401,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2400","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mental-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2400","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2400"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2400\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2402,"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2400\/revisions\/2402"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2401"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2400"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2400"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2400"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}