Marshall County appoints four community mental health officers as mobile crisis response expands

The Marshall County Commission on the work-session agenda voted to appoint four community mental health officers and signaled support for an expanded mobile crisis response that officials say is already operating across Marshall and Jackson counties.

Jeremy Baraj, who identified himself as a community mental health officer, described Mountain Lakes Behavioral Healthcare’s mobile crisis teams, saying the program runs four teams that provide 24/7 coverage and pair a master’s-level clinician with a peer support specialist. “We have 4 total teams providing 24 hour day, 7 day a week, holidays, nights, weekends, 24 hour 7 coverage, for Marshall and Jackson County,” Baraj said, adding that the teams can respond without requiring law-enforcement transport when it is safe to do so.

Baraj explained how the teams work with deputies under Alabama law: deputies may call a community mental health officer to evaluate someone suspected to be severely mentally ill; if officer, deputy and physician later agree, the person can be held for treatment under the statutory process. Baraj also described operational benefits: teams can de‑escalate incidents at the scene, transport people in a dedicated vehicle and reduce the amount of time deputies spend off patrol on mental-health calls.

A probate office representative who requested the appointments emphasized years of local coordination among the hospital, courts, law enforcement and Mountain Lakes Behavioral Healthcare and described the mobile response as a “game changer” for families and first responders. The commission read aloud the names submitted for certification and approved a resolution appointing Alyssa Arias, Crystal Baker, Madeline Stott and Elizabeth Rucker as community mental health officers; the meeting record clarifies the spelling of one appointee (Stott).

Commissioners and other attendees asked about funding and how the new team integrates with existing services. Officials said the mobile response was approved in October and has been operating since November, and they stressed there is no direct cost to the county for the current mobile unit expansion as presented to the commission.

The commission’s action was a formal appointment of the named individuals; the mobile crisis service itself is provided by Mountain Lakes Behavioral Healthcare and will continue to coordinate with local law enforcement, the probate office and hospitals. The county record shows the commission moved the appointments forward during the business meeting and approved the resolution on the same day.

Next steps noted in the meeting: the newly appointed officers will be certified as community mental health officers, and staff will continue coordination among agencies to integrate the mobile teams with existing response protocols.