HB 2417 Report: Statewide Coordinated Crisis Services System (PDF)

In 2021, through HB 2417, the Oregon legislature appropriated $15 million to
the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) to establish 988 call centers and enhance
mobile crisis services. The bill also directed OHA to identify an implementation
plan for Crisis Receiving Centers as part of the state’s behavioral health crisis
system. Additionally, it required a comprehensive analysis of the existing crisis
services in Oregon, with policy and funding recommendations for a continuum
of crisis services that addresses the behavioral health needs of Oregonians in all
stages of life while simultaneously addressing health inequity.
In order to report to the legislature on these important aspects of the design of
the crisis care system, OHA contracted with RI International (RII), a national
non-profit with expertise on the provision of crisis services, to conduct an
analysis and make policy and funding recommendations. The full report by RII
is attached. This report brings forward information from RI and input from key
partners that are implementing and utilizing the system.
While RI International is providing expertise on how to design the regulatory,
accountability, and financial infrastructure of the crisis system, OHA is
simultaneously centering the perspectives of communities with lived experience
in the behavioral health crisis system, as well as engaging with Community
Mental Health Programs and 911 partners, to guide changes in policy, rules, and
contracts. The overarching goal of the implementation planning process is to
design an Evidence Based crisis system through consistent engagement with
communities of color and other prioritized communities who have historically
experienced unintended adverse outcomes of the crisis response due to social
and historical injustice. OHA is also exploring all the potential avenues to
leverage Medicaid for each component of the crisis system.
OHA aims to continue engaging with communities and state and federal
partners through 2022, and to strengthen the existing foundation of 988 Call
Center and enhanced Mobile Crisis System by end of 2022. OHA also will
continue to explore what a system of facility-based crisis receiving capacity
should look like in Oregon to meet individual and regional needs, led by RI and
community recommendations. OHA anticipates the following resource needs:
1. Additional funding to sustain 988 call center operations, needed to support
increasing call volume and to accommodate text and chat services
2. Funding to sustain enhanced mobile crisis model, if federal funding
provisions expire after five years
3. Funding to support start-up and operational costs for Crisis Receiving
Centers