Crisis response provides immediate assistance to individuals experiencing a mental health or substance use crisis. Crisis response can occur with or without law enforcement. Crisis response models can vary, but all serve to ensure early identification of individuals experiencing a behavioral health crisis to link them with an appropriate behavioral health response to reduce criminal justice involvement.
Crisis call centers offer real-time access to a person well-trained in responding to mental health, substance use, and suicidal crises. Crisis call centers operate 24/7 every day and are staffed by clinicians overseeing clinical triage and other trained team members.
Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) programs bring together law enforcement, mental health professionals, mental health advocates, and other partners to improve community responses to mental health crises.
A crisis stabilization center is a facility designed to provide linkages to behavioral health services and other social supports and services to reduce the utilization rates of emergency health services and public safety services.
Mobile crisis teams typically triage a situation by providing crisis screening, intervention, de-escalation services, coordination with medical and behavioral health services, and crisis planning.