King County marked a new milestone this week in our progress to make sure community members receive timely and effective behavioral health care in a mental health or substance use crisis.  

On Dec. 2, the Behavioral Health and Recovery Division (BHRD) launched its new mobile rapid-response crisis teams for adults, adding 10 new teams in the field, plus new services and providers to the program.  

“We’re building a robust crisis system where everyone has access to the care they need, when and where they need it — reducing hospital and jail visits,” said King County Executive Dow Constantine. “By expanding the number of mobile response teams, we’re on track to ensure people in crisis can get 24/7 help from a specialized behavioral health team.”

The Downtown Emergency Service Center (DESC) has operated King County’s mobile crisis teams for adults since 2009 and will continue serving Seattle and Vashon. New providers for the program include Sound to operate teams in the North/East and South, and Crisis Connections to triage and dispatch mobile crisis teams when calls to 988 or the Regional Crisis Line require an in-person response. 

“We’re thrilled to extend our contract with DESC and bring on Sound for the expansion — both are proven, long-trusted partners in behavioral health care and are already collaborating and supporting each other to put our clients first,” said Dr. Susan McLaughlin, Director, Behavioral Health and Recovery Division. “This expansion will allow us to reach more people in crisis sooner, and easier with Crisis Connections receiving the calls and dispatching the teams.” 

What Are Mobile Crisis Teams? 

Mobile crisis teams are trained mental health workers and peer specialists with lived experience of mental health or substance use challenges. These workers travel across the county to help people in a crisis where they are. The teams work to de-escalate, stabilize, and resolve the crisis in the field and then connect people to supportive services.  Watch this video to learn more about their work. 

How to connect:  

  1. Text or call 988 or 206-461-3222, to talk to local crisis counselors from Crisis Connections, if you or a loved one need help during a mental health and/or drug or alcohol-related crisis.  
  1. When a person in crisis needs someone to respond but doesn’t need police, Crisis Connections can now dispatch a mobile crisis team to provide in –person help, wherever the person is in King County.   
  1. The mobile crisis team is trained to de-escalate, stabilize, and resolve the crisis in the field and then connect people to other supportive services. 

Key benefits of the expanded mobile crisis model include: 

  1. Available to Everyone: Serving all individuals experiencing a crisis regardless of insurance status, including Medicaid clients, makes this service available to everyone in King County without exception. 
  1. Easier to Access: Previously by referral-only, it is now easier for people who need a specialized crisis response in person to get it by simply calling or texting 988.  
  1. Faster Response: With 27 teams on the ground, response times can be reduced, and more coverage across the county ensures that help is available quickly no matter where an individual is located. 
  1. Expanded Model of Care: Expanding services mobile crisis teams offer, including follow-up care and linkage to ongoing support, ensures a continuum of care that addresses immediate and long-term needs. Teams will also respond to behavioral crisis calls in place of or before a Designated Crisis Responder (DCR) referral for an Involuntary Treatment Act evaluation to prioritize providing less restrictive care first. 

Read more: King County expands mobile teams that bring care to people in crisis | The Seattle Times

Looking Forward 

King County is committed to expanding its crisis services and establishing a network of five crisis care centers for people to walk in and receive urgent care in a crisis.  

In addition to expanding mobile crisis teams for adults, King County will invest in two new mobile crisis teams for youth in early 2025 for a total of five teams in the field to respond to crises. YMCA operates mobile crisis teams for youth through its Children’s Crisis Outreach and Response System. 

When an individual in crisis needs a place to go to receive a higher level of care, mobile crisis teams will be able to transport them to a crisis care center once they are open and operational. Today, mobile crisis teams in the North/East area can take people to Connection’s Crisis Response Center in Kirkland, which is a full-service behavioral health urgent care clinic.  

The purpose of the Crisis Care Centers Initiative is to reach more people sooner, before their crisis escalates, through less-restrictive services. This includes: someone to call (988/Regional Crisis Line), someone to respond (mobile crisis teams), somewhere to go (crisis care centers), and someone to follow-up (mobile crisis teams, crisis care centers, and community providers). 

Providing the necessary resources to crisis call centers, mobile crisis teams, crisis care centers, community behavioral health providers, and the workforce is essential to building a healthier community for everyone.