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Social services outlines crisis‑response models after national conference; council members discuss regional behavioral‑health triage
Summary
Los Alamos County social services staff summarized crisis‑response models from a national conference in Philadelphia and discussed how 988, local dispatch and regional triage centers might fit into a multi‑county system. Staff signaled funding uncertainty for some models and recommended regional collaboration and pilot planning.
Jessica (Los Alamos County social services staff) told the Health Council she attended a national conference in Philadelphia on crisis‑response networks and explored models suitable for rural and small counties.
“I should also point out the reason that Karen and I get along so well is, like, the idea of a net to support people... nets have holes and people fall through those holes,” Jessica said, describing the county’s interest in tightening its safety net. She framed crisis response as part of a broader health ecosystem that spans prevention through post‑treatment supports.
Jessica described a range of crisis‑response models: co‑response teams with social workers paired with police or fire, mobile integrated health units and regionally located diagnostic and evaluation centers. She noted the national move to make 988 available for mental health crises and said communities vary on whether social workers respond alongside police or arrive after police have cleared a scene.
Jessica raised funding uncertainty: “there's a total asterisk that in a lot of communities this has been funded by Medicaid labor dollars, which in our current federal administration are likely being cut and nobody had an answer for how these will continue to be funded moving forward,” she said.
Council members discussed potential next steps for the county. Jessica said county counterparts in Espanola and Santa Fe are already discussing regional triage facilities and that a multi‑county approach might align with a state plan moving toward five behavioral‑health regions. She described the Diagnostic and Evaluation Center (DEC) model used in Pittsburgh — a 24‑hour psychiatric triage facility — as an example for discussion.
Tyler Jones (Los Alamos Visiting Nurses) and other council members with crisis‑response experience offered that local responders are interested and willing to participate in planning, and Jessica said a pilot would require coordination with dispatch, police and EMTs and decisions on staffing and facility siting.
Ending: Jessica said this work ties to the county’s Comprehensive Health Plan and that social services will continue regional conversations, pursue site visits to established programs such as Las Cruces’s mobile integrated health unit and explore what could be done with existing staff while developing funding options.
