Mapping Alternative Response

Plus - new research & commentary from The Hill, Steinberg Institute, RTI, BHL Link, Ohio State, & NYU Silver School

AMSA MEETINGS

Georgia State Collective - Sign-up: ZOOM
Date/Time: July 31, 10:00 AM ET

Upcoming in-person meeting in Atlanta at The Carter Center
Date/Time: August 18 - Logistical details to come
Facilitated by Dietra Hawkins

Colorado State Collective Sign-up: ZOOM
Date/Time: July 15, 3:00 pm MT, facilitated by Samantha Bunecke

Illinois State Collective Sign-up: ZOOM
Date/Time: July 24, 2:00 PM CT, facilitated by Alexander Heaton

Oregon State Collective Sign-up: ZOOM
Date/Time: July 21, 3:00 PM PT, facilitated by Andre Miller

Data Special Interest Group Sign-up: ZOOM
Date/Time: August 19, 2026 10:00 AM PT

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HEADLINES

INDIANA - NAMI West Central Indiana marks one year with Mobile Crisis Response Unit (WLFI)

The NAMI Mobile Crisis Response Unit has responded to 270 dispatch calls between April 2025 and June 2026. Out of the 270 calls, 81% of the crises were resolved without hospitalization or police intervention. Many of the calls are responded to alongside local law enforcement.

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NORTH CAROLINA - A crisis team that stays: How a new NC program is keeping kids out of the ER (NC Health News)

A new North Carolina mobile crisis program for children, MORES, aims to keep kids out of emergency rooms and psychiatric hospitals by sending mental health workers directly to families’ homes for up to eight weeks.

Started in 2023, the MORES program — mobile outreach, response, engagement and stabilization — is a special mobile crisis unit for children and young people ages 3 to 21 who are experiencing heightened emotional or behavioral health needs. A MORES team responds to non-life-threatening crises within an hour of receiving a call. A team includes a licensed clinician trained in adolescent care and a family peer support specialist — someone who has experienced caring for a child with behavioral health issues and can walk alongside the caregivers.