RD96 - Report on Marcus Alert and the Comprehensive Crisis System, FY 2024 – January 14, 2025
Executive Summary: During the 2020 Special Session I of the General Assembly, the Marcus-David Peters Act was written to support development of an interconnected statewide framework for behavioral health crisis response. The Act was created in memory of Marcus-David Peters, who tragically lost his life during a mental health crisis. The Act in its entirety includes the build-out of a comprehensive, statewide behavioral health response system, as well as a series of local protocols and supports to coordinate between law enforcement, 911, and the comprehensive crisis system. This report provides an overview of the implementation process thus far and progress made towards the measurement of each indicator required in the act. The summary of the state plan for implementation including details of the planning process of the Marcus-David Peters Act can be found here: State Plan for the Implementation of the Marcus-David Peters Act.(*1) Implementation of the Marcus-David Peters Act has followed the original schedule thus far, with the first five sites launched December 1, 2021, and an additional 12 Marcus Alert programs beginning on July 1, 2024. The availability of crisis services has grown tremendously since the passing of the legislation. All 17 Marcus Alert sites have worked closely with their regional crisis call centers to implement protocols for Marcus Alert. The 911 Centers/Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) have incorporated Marcus Alert data collections elements within their Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) systems to capture metrics related to Marcus Alert instances. The Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS) is working to meet the statewide implementation of all 40 Marcus Alert programs by July 1, 2028, as required. At this time, funds have only been allocated to the established first 17 sites (Figure 1). |