Montgomery County panels report expanded crisis response capacity and 988 call-center gains

A joint session of Montgomery County Council committees on Health & Human Services and Public Safety heard updates Friday on the county's effort to build an integrated crisis response that combines a regional crisis call center, mobile crisis outreach teams and stabilization facilities.

Monica Martin, acting chief of behavioral health and crisis services for the Department of Health and Human Services, told the committee the county has increased the share of mobile crisis outreach team (MCOT) responses that deploy without police to 36% and is expanding MCOT coverage from five teams to seven this fiscal year. Martin said the county now lists 34 full-time therapist positions at the crisis center, with nine vacancies, and 14 peer recovery specialist positions with seven vacancies as roles are reclassified.

Earl Stoddard, assistant chief administrative officer for the county executive's office, framed the work as a continuum that must emphasize prevention as well as crisis response. "There is a place for police in our response. There is a place for mental health. There is a place for substance use," Stoddard said, adding that coordinated, countywide partnerships are central to reducing crises.

Everymind, which operates the county's 988 call center, reported operational results that committee members called promising but still evolving. Krish Masek, Everymind's chief program officer, said the center answered nearly 55,000 calls, texts and chats in fiscal 2024, with an answer rate just over 90% and an average answer within about 20 seconds. He said Everymind was able to de-escalate roughly 96% of contacts; fewer than 4% required escalation to MCOT, the county crisis center or 911.

"Geo-routing has been implemented with two carriers so far, and Everymind was the first center in the nation to receive a geo-routed 988 call," Masek said, describing a system that routes callers by nearest cell-tower ping rather than by area code.

Officials told the committee that some state and federal funding streams and administrative steps remain in flux. Martin noted Medicaid reimbursement was approved for 23-hour crisis stabilization and that the county received a state grant to expand stabilization capacity; she said an architect has been hired for a diversion center and the county hopes to issue an operator RFP by the end of this fiscal year. Masek said about $2 million in state-contracted funding was being held up at the state pending award letters and county approval.

Members of the committee pressed for clearer operational metrics, especially call-to-response timing and transfer volumes between 911, 988 and local crisis teams. Martin and Everymind described ongoing work to improve integrated data collection: "We need better systems to track call-to-response," Martin said, adding that MCOT response times vary by team availability and safety needs when police accompaniment is required.

Captain Jordan Stinsky, who described the police's community engagement and centralized CIT officers, said the county's approach has moved from isolated efforts to a more coordinated model in which law enforcement, HHS and community partners share responsibilities and information where feasible.

The committee discussed whether to sunset the county's older warm line (301) in favor of routing calls to 988 once geo-routing and capacity are fully in place; every presenter said any decision would require careful transition planning so older or homebound residents are not left without support.

The session concluded with members praising progress but asking for additional data and follow-up reports on staffing, transfers between systems and MCOT response times. The committee adjourned and plans to reconvene on related legislative matters next year.