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Mobile Response Team expands dispatch options, logs sharp deployment growth in first year
Summary
County staff and Bert Nash briefed the commission on rapid growth and expanded dispatch integration for the Mobile Response Team, which is now accessible via 988, non‑emergency lines and 911 dispatch and is operating countywide with radios and expanded hours.
Douglas County officials and Bert Nash representatives told the Board of Douglas County Commissioners on April 9 that the Mobile Response Team (MRT) has expanded how it is dispatched countywide and has shown rapid growth in deployments and coordination with first responders.
Deputy director Sonia Baeza of the Emergency Communications Center (ECC) said the program started field deployment in mid‑2024 with the Lawrence Police Department and later expanded to Baldwin, Eudora, the sheriff’s office, Lawrence‑Douglas County Fire & Medical (LDCFM) and KU Police. Baeza said the team has been integrated into ECC dispatch protocols so referrals can be triaged as routine or urgent and routed appropriately.
“Everything that we did through the GPL process was about these guiding statements to make sure that everything we do is coordinated,” Baeza said, referencing the Government Performance Lab process used to set program guidance.
Ryan Storch, crisis services senior director with Bert Nash, summarized program growth numbers: the MRT was deployed to 743 incidents in 2024, covering 327 unique individuals, and he said the team was “currently on pace to surpass 800 referrals for the year” in 2025. Storch and ECC staff said the program now accepts referrals from 988, non‑emergency calls and 911, and that radio integration in March improved real‑time coordination.
Sonia Baeza and Storch described the team’s composition and operating hours: roughly seven to eight full‑time clinicians, case managers and peer supporters, supplemented by a PRN pool; MRT coverage is 8 a.m. to 2 a.m., 365 days per year. When safe and appropriate, MRT staff will transport clients (or arrange transport) to the Treatment & Recovery Center (TRC); law enforcement remains a transport option when indicated. Baeza noted examples where MRT staged with law enforcement or provided warm handoffs so officers could clear and respond to other calls.
Commissioners pressed staff on response-time trends and rural service. ECC staff said expanding MRT dispatch beyond Lawrence increased travel distances and meant some response times rose slightly as the program grew and staff levels fluctuated; they said coordination has led to a net increase in appropriate, nonpolice responses to behavioral‑health calls.
Officials also described early evidence of system impacts. Storch said local data indicated decreased law‑enforcement bookings related to behavioral health and substance use in some categories, and ECC staff said LMH Health and the county jail were reporting measurable reductions in some utilization metrics. Commissioners asked about funding; county staff said the county provides a subsidy and that state funding supplements MRT operations but may be declining. The county contribution noted in the meeting packet for MRT operations was $445,000 from the mental‑health sales tax to support MRT coverage from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m.
Why it matters: The MRT is intended to provide a nonpolice crisis response option for many behavioral‑health calls, to reduce inappropriate ED visits and jail bookings, and to relieve some demand on law enforcement. Commissioners praised weekly coordination meetings among ECC, MRT and police and said the expanded radio integration and extended hours were important program developments.
What’s next: Staff said they will continue monitoring deployment volumes, response times and outcomes; commissioners asked staff to keep the commission apprised of data trends and funding needs as the program scales.
