Simitian Pushes for Expansion of Mobile Crisis Response Team
SAN JOSE – Today, on County Supervisor Joe Simitian’s motion, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors directed County staff to formulate a plan to expand the County’s Mobile Crisis Response Team (MCRT) to the North County and West Valley and expand the County’s mobile crisis response programs to young people between the ages of 16 and 24.
In Santa Clara County, Mobile Crisis Response Teams are used to provide an essential service to people who suffer from mental health or substance abuse. Instead of dispatching police officers, social workers and behavioral health clinicians connect those experiencing a mental health emergency with medical or social services. Last year, the program received almost 5,000 calls for service – 1,600 more than in 2020 and nearly 3,800 more than in 2019.
As proposed by Simitian, Chair of the County’s Health and Hospital Committee, the expansion would create a dedicated unit to serve residents in the County’s northern and western cities amid a mental health crisis made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic. At Simitian’s urging, the Board also directed staff to consider expanding the County’s mobile crisis response programs to respond to youth in crisis.
The MCRT program is currently limited by geographical challenges. At present, staff responding to calls for service from residents in the North County and West Valley must travel from San Jose, lengthening their response time.
“Given the increased need for this service, and the geography of our County, a unit based in the North County/West Valley area would help provide faster, better service to our residents,” Simitian said. “In fact, a dedicated unit in the North County and West Valley would benefit the entire County,” said Simitian, “by allowing staff in central county to focus their time and resources there.” When resources are drawn out of San Jose that leaves fewer resources in place for the population center of the county, he noted.
Added Simitian, “Moreover, a dedicated team will be able to get to know the North County/West Valley communities, including law enforcement, social service providers, and other stakeholders in a way that a team trying to cover everything from San Jose to the north and west simply can’t.”
As we approach the third year of the pandemic, the U.S. finds itself in the grip of a mental health crisis, affecting young and old alike. The statistics are sobering: Here in Santa Clara County, there has been a 13% increase in the number of residents accessing the County’s behavioral health system.
“These past two years have been challenging for all of us, but they have been especially challenging for those who face mental health crises,” Simitian said. “When they or their loved ones reach out for help, we should do everything we can to respond quickly and connect people in crisis with the help they need.”
“In the absence of something like a Mobile Crisis Response Team, these situations can become public safety events—or worse, tragedies that ripple through families, schools, and communities if people can’t access necessary services.”
The mental health crisis has also strained law enforcement resources. The American Psychological Association estimates that at least 20% of police calls for service involve mental health or substance abuse issues.
One way to lessen the burden of law enforcement, suggested Simitian, is to assign some of their responsibilities to licensed clinicians and therapists with training and expertise in crisis response.
“Having behavioral health clinicians and other professionals available to help people in crisis not only provides a more complete and appropriate response, but it also allows law enforcement to focus on other community needs,” he said.
Young people are suffering particularly hard, reporting high levels of stress. A report from the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Household Pulse Survey found that 56% percent of young people between the ages of 18 and 24 experienced depression or anxiety during the pandemic, more than any other age group in the survey. “The transition to adulthood is tough for so many young people, and it is especially challenging when young people also struggle with addiction, mental health, or suicidal thoughts,” Simitian said.
In November, the Palo Alto Police Department, in partnership with the County, launched a Psychiatric Emergency Response Team (PERT), a crisis intervention model which pairs a licensed mental health clinician with a law enforcement officer to respond to calls involving people in acute mental health crises.
The PERT program is yet another tool in the County’s suite of mental health crisis response services, bringing mental health resources to local police departments and providing mental health expertise when and where it is needed.
At the Board of Supervisors' direction, County Administration will report to the Board with a plan in February for expanding the Mobile Crisis Response Team to North County and West Valley. Administration will return to the Board on April 19 with a plan for expanding mobile crisis programming to young people.
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