"As Chief Medical Officer Dr. Mark Escott and his colleagues from EMS, APD and Integral Care explained to the City Council Public Safety Committee last week, the goal of the new team is to develop a plan for dealing with persons experiencing mental health crises. Those people might otherwise end up in police custody or in an emergency medical facility."
"Between 2022 and the end of 2024, APD processed more than 867,000 calls. Of those, 11 percent were immediately identified as related to a mental health crisis. Of that 11 percent, 86 percent were resolved without police involvement. "Our responses to low- and moderate-acuity persons in crisis... has worked well," Escott said. However, he said the team had "identified a gap in treatment for situations that involve a high risk of harm or imminent danger.""
The city of Austin will begin a six-month pilot next month deploying a multidisciplinary team composed of Austin, Travis County EMS, the Austin Police Department, and Integral Care to address mental-health-related incidents in the downtown area. The team will focus on developing a response plan for people experiencing mental health crises who might otherwise be arrested or taken to emergency medical facilities. The unit will target high-acuity calls Monday through Thursday during daytime hours. The pilot will run six months and conclude with a report to City Council outlining findings, data challenges, and recommended next steps.
Read at Austin Monitor
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