How are new grants improving responses to MCPD mental health police calls?

Montgomery County Council president Gabe Albornoz discussed the state of mental health police calls (Alex Smith/Flickr)

The Montgomery County mental health crisis outreach team received new funding as a part of the $363 million the Department of Health and Human Services received from the Montgomery County Council budget.

County Council President Gabe Albornoz said he went on a nighttime ride-along with the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Department in May of 2021. During that ride, the police received a call around 7 p.m. when a “code blue” was issued. 

Albornoz said he asked what a code blue was. 

“They said, ‘that's when every emergency room bed and all six of Montgomery County's hospitals are full,’” Albornoz said. When he asked the police officer the frequency of these calls, the officer responded  “‘We're now at a point where we are more in code blue than we are not in code blue,’ which is crazy.” 

Family members brought loved ones with mental health crises to hospitals in times when they didn’t know how to gain support for them, Albornoz said.

The County Council established a Mobile Crisis Outreach Team in each of the six precincts since then, Albornoz said. Behavioral health specialists, such as psychiatrists, made up the teams and partnered with police departments across Montgomery County to address mental health crisis calls. 

“It's not perfect, because every circumstance is unique and may have a different angle or layer that can't fully be anticipated,” Albornoz said. “For example, if a gun or a firearm is involved, then police will respond directly to those situations when there's imminent danger.”

The person who experienced the crises would be guided by the behavioral specialists on the scene to county’s services such as behavioral health or non profit organizations post the call, Albornoz said. But support was not required unless a judge otherwise states in court, according to the Rights of Persons in Maryland’s Psychiatric Facilities.