New NRI State Profile Report on State Behavioral Health Agency Support for Mobile Crisis Teams, 2022
Thursday, June 15, 2023
Mobile Crisis Teams (MCTs) are a critical component of the behavioral health crisis care continuum. MCTs are designed to travel to meet face-to-face with an individual experiencing a behavioral health crisis and have demonstrated effectiveness in helping address crises and reduce use of emergency rooms, psychiatric hospitalizations, and adverse criminal justice system interactions. Almost all reporting states (46 out of 48) are operating MCTs with over 1,286 teams in operation in 2022 and plans in 31 states to open at least 173 additional MCTs in 2023. While most states have MCTs and are expanding this service, many states are working to assure mobile crisis services are available to all individuals in a state at any time of the day or night (see chart below).
The Profiles report details the number of MCTs, what types of organizations are operating them, challenges to their operating 24/7, as well as issues of financing, workforce challenges, and outcomes being measured.
In addition to this Profiles report on Mobile Crisis Teams, other new and updated Profiles reports on Crisis Services on the NRI website (www.nri-inc.org/profiles) focus on specific aspects of the crisis services continuum.