FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                    October 13, 2020

CONTACT:   Alexandra Pierce 209-385-7456 (Merced County)

Mike Conway, 209-385-6232 (City of Merced)

Behavioral Health to Team Up with Law Enforcement

The Merced Police Department has a specialized unit backing them up in the field during certain critical incidents.

When responding to situations involving a mental health crisis, officers will be assisted by the Merced County Behavioral Health and Recovery Services’ (BHRS) Mobile Crisis Response Team. A similar partnership is being established with the Merced County Sheriff’s Office.

The Mobile Crisis Response Team will support the Merced Police Department by teaming them with professionals from BHRS that are trained in culturally humble, trauma-informed crisis intervention methods. The participating agencies will operate under a memorandum of understanding.  

“A mental health/law enforcement collaboration makes sense,” said Genevieve G. Valentine, BHRS Director. “The first phase of this partnership will focus on working alongside the Merced Police Department. The goal is to alleviate the demand on the local emergency room and divert individuals from detention/incarceration to less restrictive settings.”

The Team comes together at a time when people are questioning why law enforcement is being used to answer so many mental health-related emergency calls. The BHRS Mobile Crisis Response Team will be able to help respond to many of those calls.

“This is the right tool at the right time,” said Merced Mayor Mike Murphy. “We are giving law enforcement the help and assistance they need with professionals trained in the mental health field.”

“We have many incidents that don’t need a response of a badge and a gun, but need something specialized. Now we have that,” said Interim Police Chief Tom Cavallero. “Our officers have extensive training in how to handle situations, but they are not the mental health professionals that the Mobile Crisis Response Team will bring to the community.”

The City’s existing Disruptive Area Response Team (DART) will work with the BHRS Mobile Crisis Response Team to triage and evaluate individual needs and then provide linkage to the appropriate level of behavioral health service or community referral.

The County is funding the positions through a grant and existing funding. At this point in time, services are only accessed through outreach via DART as these are crisis services and meant to function as a diversion for mental health holds at the emergency room or unnecessary involvement with the criminal justice system.

This collaboration has its roots in an earlier project. While evaluating the best way to provide service to people experiencing homelessness, the City of Merced identified a need for Behavioral Services.

“Eliminating unnecessary barriers and working together—city and county—will ultimately help the community,” said District 4 Supervisor Lloyd Pareira. “The Merced County Board of Supervisors previously approved a project to expand crisis support services in the County, and I am proud to finally see this coming together.”

The MOU was unanimously approved by the City Council Sept. 21. and the Merced County Board of Supervisors approved Sept. 29.

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