WestCare mobile response team says it diverted 80% of calls, reports 3,175 crisis calls in fiscal year

Claudio Perez, acting chair of Miami‑Dade County’s Behavioral Health Advisory Board, on July 29 heard a presentation from WestCare Florida about its 24/7 Mobile Response Team (MRT) in Miami‑Dade County.

WestCare officials said the MRT received 3,175 crisis calls in the most recent fiscal year and aims to arrive within 60 minutes of a dispatch. “We have been able to respond within the hour,” said Luciana Beltran, program director for the MRT, during the presentation. Staff described a three‑team county deployment (north, central and south), master‑level dispatchers, licensed clinicians and peer specialists who perform in‑person crisis assessment, de‑escalation and continuity of care.

The presentation summarized outcomes and system metrics. WestCare reported that 80% of MRT calls were resolved without hospitalization and that 23% of calls resulted in a Baker Act involuntary examination (630 people), of whom the provider said 241 were minors and 389 were adults. WestCare said roughly 80% of Baker Act transports are completed via the MRT’s contracted…