HHS Allocates $260 Million for 24/7 Mobile Mental Health Crisis Teams and 988 Telehealth Vans

WASHINGTON — U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) announced on Monday the distribution of $260 million in federal behavioral health grants to establish, equip, and staff 250 specialized Mobile Crisis Intervention Teams (MCITs) and expand telehealth-enabled crisis dispatch networks connected to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

The funding equips municipal and county behavioral health authorities with custom-built crisis response vans staffed by licensed mental health clinicians, psychiatric social workers, and certified peer recovery specialists, providing rapid on-scene de-escalation for individuals experiencing acute mental health or substance use crises without requiring armed law enforcement dispatch.

Providing Compassionate Care and Diverting Patients from Emergency Rooms Behavioral health studies demonstrate that mobile crisis intervention teams successfully resolve over 85 percent of mental health emergencies in the community without requiring emergency department visits or psychiatric hospitalizations, while drastically reducing dangerous interactions with the criminal justice system.

"When someone is suffering an acute mental health crisis, they need a healthcare provider, not handcuffs," HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in Washington. "By investing $260 million into mobile crisis response teams and connected 988 telehealth, we are ensuring that anyone experiencing psychiatric distress can receive rapid, compassionate care from trained clinicians directly in their community, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week."

Program Elements and Dispatch Telemetry The grant package finances:

• 250 Custom Mobile Crisis Intervention Vans: Equipped with private clinical consultation rooms, telehealth diagnostic tablets, and medical stabilization supplies.
• 988 Integrated CAD Dispatch Integration: Enabling 911 and 988 emergency operators to route psychiatric distress calls directly to mobile clinician teams within 90 seconds.
• Peer Specialist Workforce Training: $40 million dedicated to recruiting and training 1,500 certified peer support specialists with lived recovery experience.

Police chiefs' associations, emergency room physicians, and mental health advocacy organizations commended the federal funding, highlighting that mobile crisis teams alleviate burdens on overcrowded emergency departments.