9. Behavioral Health Crisis Center
“A back of the napkin view”

10. “It is not necessary
to change. Survival is not mandatory”
~ Peter Drucker

12. “The new Behavioral Health Crisis Centers will help our agency achieve its mission of serving individuals with mental health challenges as close to home as possible”.
Commissioner Frank Berry
Georgia Department of
Behavioral Health and
Developmental Disabilities

13. Positive Investments
Spending dollars in the right places versus negative investments or spending dollars in the wrong places, for example:
County Jails
State Prisons
Forensic State Hospitals
Hospital Emergency Departments
Emergency Shelters

14. Challenge
Historically in Georgia Individuals who are in crisis frequently contact law enforcement or go to a Hospital Emergency Department for services.

15. The development of short term 24/7/365 walk in crisis intervention and counseling services in combination with emergency receiving capability, temporary observation and crisis stabilization beds.

16. What does a Behavioral Health Crisis Center look like?
24/7/365 non-hospital emergency services for adults eighteen(18) and older with mental health disorders, substance use disorders, and co-occurring issues.
Assessment and triage
Evaluation and intervention
Crisis Counseling and support
Coordination for ongoing care and support
Capacity for temporary consumer observation.
Capacity for short term stay for stabilization and quicker return to life activities such as family, friends, and community based services.

17. What does a Behavioral Health Crisis Center look like?
A component of a larger system of care which includes:
Outpatient Services
Peer Support Services
Psychosocial Rehabilitation
Case Management
Intensive Case Management
Community Support Teams
Mobile Crisis Teams
Assertive Community Treatment Teams
Short Term Crisis Residential Services
Permanent and Supported housing
Supported Employment

18. Provide Communities with accessible
crisis options other then law enforcement,
hospital emergency departments,
in-patient care, state hospitals,
incarceration in the county jail.
Improve care coordination by
connecting consumers with
post crisis, mental health and
substance abuse follow-up
services.
Facilitate better navigation of a
complex service delivery system
with many moving parts.

19. Better educate communities on how
to access services before a crisis erupts.
Reduction in the use of hospital emergency departments, county jails,
state prisons and forensic mental
health admissions and a reduction
in cost.
Higher degree of satisfaction
from consumer and key
community constituents such as
law enforcement, courts, hospitals
and local government entities.

20. Behavioral Health is essential to health
Prevention works
Treatment is effective
People recover