Investing in community-based mental health services provides numerous benefits, including a reduction in law enforcement intervention and incarceration. These services also promote the integration of people with mental health disabilities into their communities, allowing them to have opportunities to work, a place to call home, and support throughout the day.
Mobile response services—sometimes called "mobile crisis services"--are a team of trained professionals that can come when called to help de-escalate a crisis in the community. These are essential services that should be part of every community’s mental health system. Mobile response teams have been shown to be effective in diverting individuals from hospitalization and from the criminal justice system.
The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) created a new funding stream, as part of the Medicaid program, for states to use to make mobile response services more available to people who need them. The funding stream can be tapped for three years during a five-year period, beginning April 1, 2022. When a state applies for this new funding, the federal government pays for 85% of the cost (or more in the few states with a regular match greater than 85%). The State must file an amendment to its Medicaid plan or seek or amend a waiver to secure the additional funding.
In order to secure funding at the earliest possible date, States have until June 30, 2022, to apply for the additional federal funding for mobile response services. If the federal government approves the state’s application, the new funding is retroactive as of April 1, 2022.
