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Essex County mental‑health administrator outlines system of care, flags younger, sicker caseload
Summary
Dr. Pete Scarpelli, Essex County mental health administrator, gave an overview of local crisis screening and treatment pathways, described three county screening centers and new co‑response teams, and said staff are seeing younger, more severe cases; commissioners asked about capacity and funding.
Dr. Pete Scarpelli, Essex County’s mental health administrator, told the Board of County Commissioners on Monday that the county relies on a network of community partners to screen, treat and place people experiencing acute psychiatric crises.
"In Essex County, we have 3 screening centers," Scarpelli said, listing "Grama Moss, North Beth Israel, and Rutgers," and describing both voluntary and involuntary commitments. He said two licensed physicians are required to authorize an involuntary commitment and that committed patients move from screening centers to short‑term care facilities for assessments and stabilization.
The presentation mapped the usual pathway from 911 or community screening to short‑term care (Scarpelli named North Beth Israel, Clara Mass Medical Center, Saint Michael's Medical Center, Rutgers Behavioral Health, Carewell Hospital and Mountainside Hospital) and then, when needed, to longer‑term psychiatric hospitals such as the Essex County Hospital Center in Cedar Grove or state hospitals including Greystone, Trenton State, Ann Klein and Ancora.
"From the short, from the screening centers, you have short term care … and if you were committed, you'd stay in the short term care anyway from 7 to 20 days," Scarpelli said, adding that longer stays can reach 60 to 90 days with periodic court hearings to review continued commitment.
Scarpelli described community supports intended to reduce readmission: integrated case management, PACT teams handled by Bridgeway, PATH outreach to people experiencing homelessness, collaborative justice services that assist people exiting jail, supportive housing and boarding homes. He identified the Mental Health Association of Essex and Mount Carmel Guild as agencies providing integrated case management services.
He also described two recent crisis‑response developments: an MCORT team that can be sent after a 988 call and a countywide 988 hotline for crisis calls. "If someone calls 988, you'll get a live person," Scarpelli said, explaining that responders evaluate whether to send co‑response teams or screening teams and that MCORT offers 24/7 engagement for people not judged to be an imminent danger.
Commissioners pressed for data and trends. "Are you seeing an increase of members who are utilizing these services over the past several years?" asked Commissioner Vice President Murray Thomas. Scarpelli answered that exact counts are difficult "within the community" but said clinically staff are seeing "younger individuals and sicker individuals," noting cases among people in their twenties and, in some instances, children as young as zero to five years old.
Commissioner Cooper asked about payment and access; Scarpelli said services are provided via Medicaid, insurers where applicable, and sliding‑scale arrangements so people without payment can still receive services in the community.
The board thanked Scarpelli for the overview and invited his office to provide materials that the county can post online; Scarpelli said the county mental health office is a two‑person operation and that Laura (last name not stated) handles children's services and could present separately on that topic.
What happens next: commissioners requested the presentation materials and indicated interest in a focused follow‑up on children’s services. The board did not take any formal votes as part of the presentation.
