The Chino, Fontana, Rialto and Upland police departments as well as Cal State San Bernardino are providing accommodations to the San Bernardino County Department of Behavioral Health where mental health crisis response teams are being stationed.
According to Veronica Kelley, San Bernardino County’s director of behavioral health services, “Since 2015, the San Bernardino County Department of Behavioral Health has partnered with various key agencies for no cost office space to place the San Bernardino County Department of Behavioral Health crisis triage staff in underserved areas throughout San Bernardino County.”
The facilities of certain agencies, such as law enforcement, hospital emergency departments, colleges, and offices within the judicial court system, have been selected by the San Bernardino County Department of Behavioral Health as “points of access” to assist those experiencing a mental health crisis, according to Kelley.
“The triage, engagement and support team’s co-located program allows immediate access to crisis triage by a mental health specialist which has resulted in thousands of successful outcomes,” she said. “In 2017-18, there were 3,840 encounters with co-located San Bernardino County Department of Behavioral Health Triage, Engagement and Support Team staff that resulted in crisis stabilization versus unnecessary incarcerations and/or hospitalizations. Crisis stabilization with case management and linkage to appropriate services reduce expenditures for law enforcement resources and hospital emergency departments. The non-financial memorandums of understanding outline the use of office space for the Triage, Engagement and Support Team to provide these services. All five of these agencies in the recommendation are current collaborating partners through board of supervisors-approved non-financial memorandums of understandings.”
The non-financial memorandums of understanding will allow the San Bernardino County Department of Behavioral Health to utilize dedicated office space through December 31, 2023, and may be terminated by either party without cause. The memorandums of understanding reaffirm the San Bernardino County Department of Behavioral Health’s commitment to provide access to crisis services for underserved populations at a variety of collaborated sites throughout San Bernardino County.
Each of the non-financial memoranda of understanding allows the Department of Behavioral Health to utilize office space located within the agencies at no cost to the county to allow the Department of Behavioral Health to provide crisis services through the Triage, Engagement and Support Team program.