Three Things To Read This Weekend
1. WHAT SHE SAID—Joan Englund, Executive Director of the Mental Health & Addiction Advocacy Coalition, which consists of 129 member organizations in Cleveland, Ohio: “If I’m having a heart attack, 911 isn’t going to send the police. Why do we do that when someone is having a behavioral health crisis?”
2. OREGON GOES FIRST—Oregon is the first state to be approved for 85% Medicaid reimbursement for mobile crisis response services. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services “strongly encourages other states to follow Oregon’s model …”
U.S. Senator Ron Wyden weighs in: “Great news: Oregon is the 1st state approved for Medicaid reimbursement of community-based mobile crisis intervention helping those w/ mental health & substance abuse battles. This was pioneered by Eugene’s @WhiteBirdClinic & I’ll keep backing similar work statewide & nationwide."
Announcing “The Nation’s First Medicaid Mobile Crisis Intervention Services Program,” the HHS explained the import of the program:
“The new Medicaid option gives states an opportunity to support community-based mobile crisis intervention services for individuals with Medicaid, including those who have both a mental health and substance use condition, such as opioid use… [under the program, states] “qualify for a higher federal Medicaid match of 85% for the next three years to reimburse mobile crisis services delivered to Medicaid beneficiaries.”
“Providing immediate and appropriate care to someone in crisis not only helps reduce the possibility that they will harm themselves, but also helps reduce the need for costly inpatient services…. Too often, law enforcement must serve as mental health counselors or social workers, which takes away from their policing work. By mobilizing mental health and substance use professionals to respond to people experiencing mental health or substance use crises, this intervention eases the burden on law enforcement and allows them to do the important work of accountable policing.”
“Oregon is the first state to seek and be granted approval for this new Medicaid option, and the Department strongly encourages other states to follow Oregon’s model of expanding access to these vital crisis care services. Helping states integrate behavioral health services into their Medicaid programs is a critical component of establishing a stronger and more sustainable crisis care continuum.”
Portland Street Response is one of the programs that will benefit from the new Medicaid funding. In an interview with the local ABC affiliate, City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty credited the street response program, and programs like it throughout the country, with creating the conditions that sparked federal interest and support…
“We didn’t wait for the funding to be in place to start Portland Street Response because we would still be having that conversation if we did … Instead, we believed that if we were able to pilot it and prove that it was something that added value to our first responder’s system - that it would give Senator Wyden the push that he could have at the federal level, which he did. If it wasn’t for both CAHOOTS and Portland Street Response already operating on the ground, [Wyden] would never have been able to get the federal government to do their first investment of federal dollars... we were the proof that it worked.”
3. EARLY DATA SHOWS PROMISE IN THREE MORE CITIES—Here are progress reports from three cities with early-stage mobile crisis response programs:
Albany, New York: A new joint report from the public health and social work schools at University of Albany evaluated the first year of the ACCORD—or, Albany County Crisis Officials Responding and Diverting—pilot program. The program “consists of two response teams made up of social workers from the County’s Mobile Crisis Team and paramedics from the Sheriff’s Office, who have been trained to handle situations involving mental health and nonviolent emergency cases where law enforcement is not essential.” Here’s a local news outlet describing the results:
“240 emergency calls were diverted to the ACCORD team resulting in 549 total encounters with 210 different individuals with the majority of calls related to general medical assistance and services [and] transportation for those experiencing immediate mental health emergencies. In most cases, the ACCORD team was able to de-escalate the situation, assess the individual’s needs, and offer coping strategies and referral services for care. The team also followed up with the individuals and their families to offer continued support and additional services when necessary.”
The county’s sheriff, Craig Apple, praised the results: “In the short time the ACCORD program has been in operation the results have shown the need for more mental health staff supporting the needs of Law Enforcement.”
Aurora, Colorado: The Aurora Mobile Response Team—which “pairs a licensed mental health clinician from Aurora Mental Health with a paramedic”—began its second year in operation this month. The team has already responded to 1,118 calls for service providing “crisis intervention and de-escalation services on the scene to individuals experiencing a behavioral health crisis.” Former Aurora Police Chief Vanessa Wilson supports the program, telling CBS Evening News that “a lot of times it’s not appropriate for officers to have to go to these calls and possibly escalate the situation.” That’s because a trained clinician can better respond to these types of calls, as one of Wilson’s longtime officers, Sgt. Aaron Bunch, elaborated: “police officers are trained to do a lot of things—what they don’t have are Master’s degrees in social work.” Worth your time: CBS Evening News’ ride-along segment featuring Aurora’s Mobile Response Team.
Durham, North Carolina: Durham’s HEART—Holistic Empathetic Assistance Response Team—recently published new data showing that the team has responded to over 500 calls for service since it launched in late June of this year.
Here’s IndyWeek’s Lena Geller describing how “Early Data Shows Durham's Community Safety Pilot Programs Are Working” ….
“Since launching in June, Durham’s crisis response pilot programs have proven that unarmed first responders and mental health clinicians can successfully address nonviolent 911 calls without the help of law enforcement—and that with greater staffing, the programs could be helping a lot more people, according to new data from the Community Safety Department. The three programs, which operate under the name HEART have so far embedded a mental health expert in Durham’s 911 call center; dispatched a three-person team of skilled, unarmed first responders to address behavioral health calls within a 15-mile region of the city; and provided in-person or phone-based follow-up care for callers within 48 hours of their crises. As of August 30, HEART has responded to 428 calls, with most relating to trespassing, urgent and nonurgent welfare checks, and intoxication. In-person response teams have not run into any safety issues, according to Community Safety Department director Ryan Smith.”
Here’s Sarah Krueger from WRAL in Durham describing the upshot of the city’s progress report: “The city of Durham’s new team of unarmed first responders is helping lighten the load on police by responding to hundreds of calls, new data released Monday shows …. The HEART team has never needed police backup for safety…. Abena Bediako is a social worker who responds to the non-violent situations. She explained her team is usually called to instances of trespassing and welfare checks. “We have really been welcomed even more than originally thought,” Bediako said …. [Community Safety Department Director] Ryan Smith said he’s [also] heard stories that have warmed his heart. ‘They showed up to a downtown business and the person said 'I was really hoping it was going to be you who showed up,’ Smith said. ‘They were driving on the freeway and someone passed them and did the heart sign and said, Thank you. Thank you.’”
