On Tuesday, May 16, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors approved $1.5 million to fund mobile crisis teams, which respond to emergency calls for behavioral health crises that do not require law enforcement. The board also directed the Department of Health Services to expand the program countywide by the end of the year.
Mobile crisis teams operate in Santa Rosa, Petaluma, Rohnert Park, Cotati and the unincorporated county. The board approved $500,000 for Santa Rosa’s inRESPONSE team, $500,000 for Petaluma’s SAFE program, and an additional $500,000 for the SAFE team in Rohnert Park and Cotati. Funding comes from Measure O, the quarter-cent sales tax measure voters approved in 2020 to fund mental health and homelessness services.
The SAFE team responds to nearly 450 calls per month. Their goal is to avoid a law enforcement response while assisting individuals to access community support. The inRESPONSE program had more than 2,300 calls for service in 2022.
The Santa Rosa Police Department has seen a 16% decrease in mental health calls since implementing the program.
The state is requiring that counties provide community-based mobile crisis intervention services to eligible Medi-Cal beneficiaries experiencing a behavioral health crisis by the end of the year. The county has been working to expand the Mobile Support Team and create a regional model for the past several years.
With Tuesday’s board direction, behavioral health staff will continue the work of building a regional collaboration.
