Care Plus New Jersey has received a grant to lead 988 Mobile Crisis Outreach Response Teams in Bergen and Passaic counties.
Funded by the New Jersey Department of Human Services’ Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services, the grant will establish a new system of Mobile Crisis Outreach Response Teams to respond to adults (18 and older) in non-life-threatening situations who have contacted the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, providing services 24 hours a day, seven days a week and every day of the year.
The grant aims to provide access to timely crisis intervention services, deescalate crises and stabilize consumers in the community, prevent hospitalization, rehospitalization, incarceration and intervention by law enforcement whenever it is safe to do so, and deliver equitable behavioral crisis services to all New Jersey residents.
CarePlus NJ is positioned to help expand the Mobile Crisis Outreach Response Teams model, with more than 45 years of experience in crisis response interventions and strategies, which includes the Bergen County Psychiatric Emergency Screening Program. Through PESP, CarePlus provides a designated psychiatric emergency screening program that offers 24/7 emergency mental health services, community engagement, education, training and partnerships.
The organization also leads the Bergen County Crisis Intervention Team, improving links between law enforcement, mental health providers, hospital emergency services and individuals with mental illness and their families to improve outcomes; and the Children’s Mobile program, which provides immediate crisis intervention or stabilization for youth up to age 21.
“Our extensive experience in crisis response and interventions will enable us to quickly establish Mobile Crisis Outreach Response Teams in Bergen and Passaic counties to support individuals seeking help through the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline,” Brigitte Johnson, CEO and president, CarePlus NJ, said. “This grant provides vital funding to help us expand our crisis programs and respond to non-life-threatening mental health, substance use or suicidal emergencies without law enforcement or other emergency personnel, connecting people to proper care, and improving overall outcomes.”
As part of the grant, CarePlus will provide services that ensure diversity, inclusion & equity, and cultural and linguistic competence to the target population and will continually assess and utilize demographic data in its development and delivery of programming, evaluation and outcomes to verify its relevance to the target population.
