San Diego County's Mobile Crisis Response Teams have responded to more than 32,000 calls since 2021, according to the county.
Proposed state budget cuts are threatening the future of those services, local behavioral health leaders said.
A funding commitment from the state led San Diego County Behavioral Health Services to expand mobile crisis response services to tribal communities and schools, said Nadia Privara Brahms, who directs the department.
“Over the last 18 months, our teams have responded to more than 600 calls in schools,” Brahms said.
Under Gov. Gavin Newsom’s budget proposal, mobile crisis response would no longer be a mandatory statewide Medi-Cal benefit beginning in 2027. That would shift more of the cost to counties, Brahms said.
San Diego County said the local program costs about $24 million a year and that’s paid for primarily through state and Medi-Cal funding.
Without state support, the county said it would have to cut other behavioral health services in order to fully fund the mobile crisis response program.
Without the Mobile Crisis Response Teams, Brahms said law enforcement would have responded to the mental health crisis calls from schools, “which often escalates situations and can be stigmatizing for children.”
Mental health professionals are trained to recognize psychiatric distress, deescalate and connect young people with support, said Dr. Charmi Patel Rao, a youth psychiatrist and medical director of Vista Hill Foundation in San Diego.
“Even when officers are compassionate and well-intentioned, they don’t have as much training in terms of behavioral health responses, especially in a crisis situation,” she said.
The response youth receive during a mental health emergency can have lasting effects, Rao said.
“Unfortunately, when youth and families experience that the response is traumatizing, or punitive, then they may avoid seeking help in the future” she said.
The governor and state legislature are expected to finalize the budget in the coming weeks.
