Strategies for the Delivery of Behavioral Health Crisis Services in Rural and Frontier Areas of the U.S.

Kristin Neylon, Senior Project Associate at NRI, authored this paper during the summer of 2020 as part of an 11-paper series for NASMHPD on the delivery of behavioral health crisis services in the U.S.  Many technologies exist that can be used to facilitate and enhance the delivery of crisis services, and the importance and promise of technology in the delivery of crisis services has never been more relevant than in 2020 when the world is adjusting to the effects of a global pandemic that limits face-to-face interventions, isolates individuals from their natural support systems, and heightens anxiety due to fear and uncertainty.  To understand these issues, and how states are leveraging technologies to enhance services, Ms. Neylon conducted a review of the literature and interviewed representatives from state, local, and non-governmental organizations in Alaska, Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico, Tennessee, and South Carolina.