Crisis and Recovery Enhancement (CARE) TA Center

Home / Resources / A Community Guide for Development of a Crisis Diversion Facility: A Model for Effective Community Response to Behavioral Health Crisis

< Back to search results

A Community Guide for Development of a Crisis Diversion Facility: A Model for Effective Community Response to Behavioral Health Crisis

Resource Type: Documents and Publications

Focus Population: People experiencing Homelessness, People with Criminal Justice System Involvement, People with Serious Mental Illness (SMI)

Topics: Criminal or Juvenile Justice System, Crisis Response System, Peer Support, Post-discharge, Community Reentry, Psychiatric or Mental Health Stabilization, Recovery from Mental Health or Substance Use Disorders, Trauma-informed

Communities across the country are increasingly challenged by pressures on their healthcare and criminal justice systems from high volumes of persons experiencing behavioral health (BH) crises arising from mental health, addiction, and related unresolved needs. The crisis diversion facility is among emerging community-based strategies to engage and better serve this population. The crisis diversion facility model can be a core component of a coordinated, systemic response, bringing health and service sectors together with law enforcement and first responders in a central facility, providing comprehensive care, reducing reliance on the public safety net and emergency and acute care, and better supporting and stabilizing vulnerable community members.