“MRSS (mobile response and stabilization services) is one of the most important tools we have at our disposal to respond quickly and effectively when a child is experiencing a crisis,” said Governor Mike DeWine.
The expansion was first announced last August with up to $12 million in funding available for eligible providers of the 18 established regions, the state said.
“Last year, I announced that we wanted to take this service statewide. Now, that goal is becoming a reality. It’s another example of how we’re protecting the mental health of our young people so they can reach their full potential,” DeWine said.
On Monday, DeWine announced the state had selected 12 organizations to provide mobile response and stabilization services across the state. These organizations will cover 18 regions, enabling response teams to get to any location in the state in less than 60 minutes after receiving a call though Ohio’s 988 Suicide and Crisis Hotline.
The Dayton, Springfield and Butler County regions were divided into three sections.
Choices Coordinated Care Solutions will be serving Montgomery and Preble counties.
Coleman Health Services will be serving counties north and east of Dayton, including Clark, Darke, Greene, Madison, Miami, Shelby, Allen, Auglaize, Champaign, Hardin and Logan counties.
Butler Behavioral Health will be serving communities south of Dayton, including Butler, Warren and Clinton counties.
Mobile response and stabilization services also offers up to six weeks of stabilization care, including in-home services, and connects families with peer support, skill-building opportunities, and prevention resources.
“By offering both initial response and follow-up services, MRSS (mobile response and stabilization services) helps to keep young people at home and prevents unnecessary visits to emergency departments and strain on other local resources,” said OhioMHAS Director LeeAnne Cornyn.
Credit: Takitch, Nathan
Credit: Takitch, Nathan
“We know this program works,” Cornyn said. “It ensures kids and families receive the type of help they need when they need it, and it’s comforting for parents to know that they don’t have to figure out how to navigate these situations alone. Help is just a phone call away.”
OhioMHAS and Ohio Medicaid have worked together to create a first-of-its-kind administrative model that ensures those who use this resource get help, regardless of their ability to pay. Mobile response and stabilization services will become a service available under the OhioRISE program.
“When a young person is in crisis, there is no time to waste in getting them the specialized help they need,” said Maureen Corcoran, director of Ohio Medicaid. “This program and its expansion will put that emergency help within reach for kids, parents, teachers, and communities all across Ohio.”
Each regional provider will be responsible for all aspects of mobile response and stabilization services in their area, including initial dispatch, de-escalation, stabilization, data monitoring and quality care assurance.
Mobile response and stabilization services will be available in all 88 counties in the coming months.
Within 60 days, each of the selected regional providers must be certified to provide mobile response and stabilization services as described in the Ohio Administrative Code.
OhioMHAS and Ohio Medicaid will also coordinate with the Ohio Department Children and Youth to achieve statewide expansion of mobile response and stabilization services.
People experiencing a mental health crisis can call 988, the national suicide prevention hotline.
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