Scaling Behavioral Health Crisis Response Systems
Challenge
Our client, like many public sector entities, had been facing an escalating crisis in behavioral health emergencies. Existing local response systems were strained, often resulting in inadequate care and increased tension on law enforcement. Recognizing the need for dedicated behavioral health crisis response teams, our client began piloting solutions and asked HRG to help evaluate the outcomes and scale the results.
Approach
HRG conducted a comprehensive assessment of the current crisis response system, identifying gaps and areas for improvement. The team built a crisp set of both leading and lagging metrics hand in hand with our clients. Focusing on replicating the successful aspects of the pilot and learning from components that were not working, the team built a plan to scale the pilot program.
For example, the team recognized a behavioral health crisis response team needed to have consistent building blocks – specially trained mental health professionals, mobile crisis units, law enforcement coordination, etc. However, the team also recognized that local crisis response teams must be unique and tailored to the specifics of the community they are operating within – local context and knowledge, multi-agency coordination across law enforcement, healthcare providers, community resources, etc.
Impact
Today, our client is still scaling the successes of the initial pilots while learning and adjusting to the feedback loops that our co-created metrics provide. The team has built a proven playbook to scale its success including operating procedures, policies, and suggested MOUs for local partnerships. Additionally, our client has developed substantial training resources to scale the crisis teams. The crisis response teams have responded to thousands of calls, deescalated hundreds of potentially dangerous situations, and helped enroll hundreds of individuals into care they may not have otherwise received.