Mobile Crisis Response services are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to provide for rapid response, assessment and early intervention to individuals experiencing a behavioral health crisis.  Services are deployed in real-time to the location of the individual experiencing a behavioral health crisis.  The purpose of this service is to i) de-escalate the behavioral health crisis and prevent harm to the individual or others; ii) assist in the prevention of an individual’s acute exacerbation of symptoms;  iii) development of an immediate plan to maintain safety; and iv) coordination of care and linking to appropriate treatment services to meet the needs of the individual.  

Mobile Crisis Response is designed to support individuals in the following manner: 

• Provide rapid response to individuals experiencing a behavioral health crisis

• Meet the individual in an environment where they are comfortable to facilitate service engagement, stabilization and resolution of the crisis when possible; 

• Services are provided in community locations where the individual lives, works, participates in services or socializes.  Locations include but are not limited to schools, homes, places of employment or education, or community settings.

• Provide appropriate care/support/supervision in order to maintain safety for the individual and others, while avoiding unnecessary law enforcement involvement, emergency room utilization, and/or avoidable hospitalization;

• Prevent further exacerbation of symptoms that would put the individual at risk of an out-of-home placement or disruption in current living environment. 

• Refer and link to all medically necessary behavioral health services and supports, including access to appropriate services along the behavioral health continuum of care (including pre-admission screening in appropriate cases conducted by a DBHDS Certified Preadmission Screening Clinician);

• Coordinate with behavioral health providers providing services to the individual throughout the delivery of the service.

Mobile Crisis Medical Necessity Criteria

Medical Criteria.

Individuals must meet all of the following criteria:

1. The individual must be experiencing an active behavioral health crisis; and

2. Urgent intervention is necessary to stabilize or prevent escalation of the individual’s behavioral health crisis; and

3. The individual or collateral contact reports at least one of the following:

   1. suicidal/assaultive/destructive ideas, threats, plans or actions; or

   2. an acute or increasing loss of control over thoughts, behavior and/or affect that could result in harm to self or others; or

   3. functional impairment or escalation in mood/thought/behavior that is disruptive to the home, school, or the community or impacting the individual’s ability to function in these settings; or

   4. the symptoms are escalating to the extent that a higher level of care will likely be required without intervention; and

4. Without urgent intervention, the individual will likely decompensate which will further interfere with their ability to function in at least one of the following life domains: family, living situation, school, social, work, or community.