AUSTIN, Texas — On Thursday, the Austin City Council approved $1.46 million in new funding that would expand a team of mental health professionals who respond to people in crisis, so they can operate on a 24/7 basis.
What does the Expanded Mobile Crisis Outreach Team do?
The Expanded Mobile Crisis Outreach Team (EMCOT) from Integral Care is the unit that the Austin Police Department, Austin-Travis County EMS and the Travis County Sheriff’s Office can call when someone is experiencing a mental health crisis.
It has 19 members who work in 911 call centers, and 29 out in the field. When EMCOT members respond to a crisis, they are able to deescalate the situation and connect them with recovery resources.
“If we determine the scene is clear and then it’s safe, we’ll let officers leave the scene if that’s appropriate, and then for a lot of people, that helps them calm down,” said Robin Hendershot, an EMCOT team member.
EMCOT’s goal is to secure the crisis, so first responders can leave within the first 10 minutes of arriving on scene.
“They’re able to go back into the community and really focus on their expertise of being available for public safety or medical emergencies,” said Marisa Malik, the director of crisis services and justice initiatives for Integral Care.
Increased need for mental health response
With mental health calls increasing in Austin, Malik says the team is in high demand.
“We’re not scaled to meet the needs of our communities,” Malik said.
To fully match the volume of mental health calls coming in, Malik says EMCOT would need three times the number of members they currently have. But Thursday, the city council helped them get one step closer to that goal.
Council members passed a resolution for a one-time funding of $1,460,340, that would allow them to add 23 more members to their team. Five of them will work in 911 call centers, and the other 18 out in the field.
Currently, EMCOT members work Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., and then Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Hendershot says mental health calls happen any time of the day, especially during late night hours, so she’s relieved this expansion will allow them to operate on a 24/7 basis.
“As soon as we can get there and deescalate the situation get the substance use referrals, the mental health referrals, whatever that is in the middle of the night, that’s going to help everyone in the community,” Hendershot said.
Malik says by providing these de-escalation tactics and sometimes medication evaluation by nurse practitioners out in the field, it can keep people from unnecessarily getting incarcerated or admitted into emergency rooms.
“We want to make sure that people are getting least restrictive options because that shows that there’s better outcomes for their recovery,” Malik said.
EMCOT members usually stay on scene with the person experiencing a crisis for about an hour, then they will do a 24-hour follow up. Members are also then able to help people for up to 90 days with transitional crisis services.