SCOUT's Honor: Hochul To Expand MTA Program Pairing Nurses and Cops to Combat Mental Illness in Subways - Streetsblog New York City

"Hochul wants to increase the number of Subway Co-response Outreach Teams - better known as SCOUT - from 10 to 15, which would provide enough personnel to proactively check up to 120 stations per day for people who are either severely physically ill or in the midst of a psychotic episode, according to officials. The MTA is currently capable of monitoring only up to 80 stations per day."

"Last year, Streetsblog revealed that existing SCOUT teams often take at least two hours to relocate a person in a mental health crisis from a subway platform into a hospital bed. The removal process involves so many steps - as many as 17 by one internal count - that sick New Yorkers frequently grow sicker and risk becoming a danger to themselves and others."

"Another Streetsblog investigation showed how this dysfunctional system played out in real time at the Stillwell Avenue terminal in Brooklyn, where beat cops and poorly paid social workers ignored sick and homeless New Yorkers during an overnight shift. The MTA's internal review of its safety net - quietly conducted in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic amid a spate of horrifying attacks on the system - echoed the findings of Streetsblog's investigation and spurred the creation of"

Gov. Hochul asked lawmakers to expand Subway Co-response Outreach Teams (SCOUT) from 10 to 15 to enable proactive checks of up to 120 subway stations daily; the MTA currently monitors up to 80 stations daily. No exact spending amount accompanied the request, though reporting shows each SCOUT team costs more than $1 million per year. The governor pledged enhanced police patrols, more platform barriers, and expanded mental health units to move people in crisis into care. Existing SCOUT teams often take at least two hours to relocate someone to a hospital bed, with removal processes involving as many as 17 steps. Investigations documented ignored sick and homeless riders during overnight shifts, and an MTA internal review echoed those findings.

Read at Streetsblog