State Receives Funds for Virtual Pilot

More than 60 percent of people living in rural America live in areas where there is a shortage of mental health professionals. At the same time, they must deal with the ongoing challenges of a fluctuating agricultural economy, increasing rural drug abuse, and the isolation brought on by COVID-19. 

About one in every ten calls to law enforcement involves someone in a potential mental health crisis which can makes it very difficult for rural law enforcement officers to deal with the situation.

Today,  many urban areas are using mobile crisis teams which includes in-person behavioral health professionals who assist law enforcement in heading off unnecessary visits to ERs or mental health hospitals. Despite the effectiveness of these mobile programs in urban areas, only two counties in South Dakota operate them. The eventual goal for the pilot is to prove the feasibility of inserting technology into the mobile crisis model.

The new Virtual Crisis Care Pilot Program is going to provide South Dakota law enforcement and court services officers with access to mental health expertise in the midst of a crisis. The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust https://helmsleytrust.org is providing $1 million in funding for the Virtual Crisis Care Pilot Program which will run through June 2021.

The program is partnering with the South Dakota Unified Judicial System https://ujs.sd.gov, Avera eCARE https://www.avera.org, and the Helmsley Charitable Trust in collaboration with the South Dakota Sheriffs’ Association https://www.southdakotasheriffs.org, plus with community mental health centers.

Under the Virtual Crisis Care Pilot Program, mental health professionals will help law enforcement and court services officers in 23 counties de-escalate, assess, and stabilize those in a crisis situation, plus arrange for their follow-up care with local community mental health centers.

Under the program, law enforcement or probation officers in the field can call the crisis response team at Avera eCARE to request a safety assessment. Officers than provide the person needing help with a tablet for a video session. Once the crisis response team completes the assessment and communicates with law enforcement, they can then work to establish follow-up care with the local community mental health center.

By using video conferencing via a tablet with Avera eCARE, officers are able to receive help with complex mental health issues that they are often not specifically trained to handle. The goal is to reduce mental health transports and hospitalizations.

According to Deanna Larson, Avera eCARE CEO, “Virtual Crisis Care Pilot Program was developed to fill a critical gap and provide on-the-spot access to mental healthcare while connecting people to local resources.”