Mobile Crisis Intervention Services: Performance Improvement Center (PIC)

MOBILE CRISIS STABILIZATION AND CARE

Connecticut's Mobile Crisis Intervention Services, (formerly known as EMPS), provides children's mental health crisis services free of charge to all children in Connecticut through a network of fourteen provider sites across the state. Trained mental health clinicians are deployed to homes, schools and community locations to provide in-person crisis stabilization services and linkage to ongoing care for children in Connecticut.

CHDI serves as the Performance Improvement Center for the State’s Mobile Crisis Intervention Services through a contract with the Connecticut Department of Children and Families (DCF).

The Mobile Crisis Intervention Services Performance Improvement Center (PIC) carries out a number of functions for mobile crisis providers, DCF and others to improve mobile crisis service quality and outcomes, including:

• Analyze and report on number of families served
• Examine the frequency of face-to-face contacts with children and families (mobility rates), and how quickly providers respond to crises
• Examine outcomes of EMPS on behavior problems and functioning
• Deliver a standardized training curriculum to the statewide network of EMPS clinicians
• Work with providers and other stakeholders to facilitate practice development activities that improve and standardize EMPS services

We use the data and results to work directly with providers to examine their services, improve them where necessary, and promote the best possible outcomes for children and their families.

We have seen dramatic improvements in service access, quality and outcomes since we started working with mobile crisis providers in 2009.

• More children and families access mobile crisis services.
  The total number of children and families served has more than doubled in the last several years.
• Mobile Crisis Intervention Services are highly responsive.
  Rates of face-to-face contact with families that request services is at 90% or higher at nearly all mobile crisis sites.
• Children improve their behaviors and functioning.
  Parents and clinicians see improvements in problem behaviors and functioning by the end of mobile crisis intervention.
• Mobile Crisis Intervention Services clinicians are well-trained.
  Hundreds of clinicians have been trained in the core competencies related to providing mobile crisis services in the community.

To learn more about the Mobile Crisis Intervention Services Performance Improvement Center, visit www.empsct.org or contact Jeff Vanderploeg.

EMPS Reports