Expanding crisis services in Maryland
Earlier this year, Governor Hogan signed SB 551 / HB 682 into law. The bill requires the Maryland Behavioral Health Advisory Council (BHAC) to develop a strategic plan for ensuring that all Marylanders have access to 24/7 clinical crisis walk-in services and mobile crisis teams.
The Crisis Response System was established in 2002, but it currently exists as a patchwork of services from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. While all jurisdictions in Maryland currently have one or more components of a comprehensive crisis system, none has an adequate continuum, and only three counties currently offer a walk-in capacity.
Crisis services have been shown to significantly reduce preventable mental health and substance use disorder crises and offer earlier intervention, providing less costly and more therapeutic care. A statewide network of 24/7 walk-in and mobile crisis services will allow individuals to receive effective treatment for behavioral health crises, thereby lowering avoidable incarcerations, emergency room visits, hospitalizations and readmissions.
Development of the strategic plan is underway. Between now and December 2017, BHAC will work to develop a plan that meets the needs of all Marylanders by reviewing local and national crisis service models, identifying systemic challenges specific to our state and ensuring that the plan is coordinated with other ongoing healthcare reform efforts.
As an initial step in the process, the BHAC Executive Committee has developed a survey to gather certain information from interested stakeholders and the public at-large. This survey will inform an environmental scan being performed by a consultant to the project. The questions have been designed to generate feedback related to the availability of clinical crisis walk-in services and mobile crisis teams and to help identify priorities that will be used to guide decision-making as we work to expand these services.
Your input is essential to ensuring that the final strategic plan reflects the needs of the community. Please take a moment to complete the survey, then share it with your friends and family and urge them to complete it as well. Make your voice heard as we work to create an effective statewide network of 24/7 clinical crisis walk-in centers and mobile crisis teams.