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Lincoln County approves 2025 agreement with Southeastern Behavioral for mobile crisis team
Summary
The Lincoln County Board of Commissioners voted to execute a 2025 agreement with Southeastern Behavioral Healthcare to continue a law-enforcement-activated Mobile Crisis Team (MCT). County and provider leaders described the team's work, diversion statistics and limits of service during the Feb. 4 meeting.
The Lincoln County Board of Commissioners voted Feb. 4 to execute a 2025 agreement with Southeastern Behavioral Healthcare to continue county-funded Mobile Crisis Team (MCT) services.
The contract was introduced by Joe Meader, deputy state's attorney, who described state statutory reforms that created the mobile health crisis team and framed the county’s financial stake in involuntary commitments. Meader said the MCT gives responding officers an alternative to transporting individuals to inpatient behavioral health facilities and can reduce county placement costs compared with an inpatient bed.
Kim Hanson, director of community support services for Southeastern Behavioral Healthcare, described how the team operates. Hanson said MCT is law-enforcement-activated, staffed by Southeastern employees, and aims to arrive on scene within about 20 minutes, though she acknowledged response times can be longer in outlying parts of Lincoln County. The team works with officers to interview the person in crisis, develop a safety plan when it is safe to do so, and make referrals for ongoing services or case management.
Hanson said Southeastern responded to 217 calls last year and declined 39 calls for reasons such as severe intoxication or lack of guardian consent for minors. Hanson reported that of the people the team saw, 175 “did remain at home,” three went to Avera Behavioral Health on voluntary admission, three went to detox, and 34 were placed on mental-illness holds. She reported an overall diversion rate of 84.3 percent across Southeastern’s service area. Hanson also said about 16 percent of MCT calls were now coming from Lincoln County and offered to provide a Lincoln County–only breakdown if the commissioners wanted it.
Commissioners questioned whether insurance is billed for MCT services and for inpatient commitments. Hanson said Southeastern does not bill individuals for mobile crisis responses; inpatient services at the hospital are billed once the person is admitted. Meader and county staff clarified that the county pays for involuntary commitments when Lincoln County is the referring county.
Public comment included Chad Skiles, a Canton first responder, who urged the board to continue supporting the program. Commissioner Jim Schmidt moved to approve the agreement; Commissioner Paul Arons seconded. The roll call vote recorded Arons, Otten, Schmidt, Putnam and Landeen as voting yes and the motion carried.
The board recorded that Commissioner Schmidt will serve as the county representative to Southeastern’s board and attend quarterly meetings.
The commissioners did not alter the scope of the MCT contract during the meeting. Commissioners asked Southeastern to provide a Lincoln County–only statistics breakdown and sought clarification about diversion rates and billing practices going forward.
No specific dollar amount for the 2025 agreement was stated during the presentation.
