2018 Maryland Code
Health - General
Title 10 - Mental Health Law.
Subtitle 14 - Maryland Behavioral Health Crisis Response System
§ 10-1403. Crisis response services
(a) In general. -- The Crisis Response System shall include:
(1) A crisis communication center in each jurisdiction or region to provide:
(i) A single point of entry to the Crisis Response System;
(ii) Coordination with the local core service agency or local behavioral health authority, police, emergency medical service personnel, and behavioral health providers; and
(iii) Programs that may include:
1. A clinical crisis telephone line for suicide prevention and crisis intervention;
2. A hotline for behavioral health information, referral, and assistance;
3. Clinical crisis walk-in services, including:
A. Triage for initial assessment;
B. Crisis stabilization until additional services are available;
C. Linkage to treatment services and family and peer support groups; and
D. Linkage to other health and human services programs;
4. Critical incident stress management teams, providing disaster behavioral health services, critical incident stress management, and an on-call system for these services;
5. Crisis residential beds to serve as an alternative to hospitalization;
6. A community crisis bed and hospital bed registry, including a daily tally of empty beds;
7. Transportation coordination, ensuring transportation of patients to urgent appointments or to emergency psychiatric facilities;
8. Mobile crisis teams operating 24 hours a day and 7 days a week to provide assessments, crisis intervention, stabilization, follow-up, and referral to urgent care, and to arrange appointments for individuals to obtain behavioral health services;
9. 23-hour holding beds;
10. Emergency psychiatric services;
11. Urgent care capacity;
12. Expanded capacity for assertive community treatment;
13. Crisis intervention teams with capacity to respond in each jurisdiction 24 hours a day and 7 days a week; and
14. Individualized family intervention teams.
(2) Community awareness promotion and training programs; and
(3) An evaluation of outcomes of services through:
(i) An annual survey by the Administration of consumers and family members who have received services from the Crisis Response System; and
(ii) Annual data collection on the number of behavioral health calls received by police, attempted and completed suicides, unnecessary hospitalizations, hospital diversions, arrests and detentions of individuals with behavioral health diagnoses, and diversion of arrests and detentions of individuals with behavioral health diagnoses.
(b) Implementation. -- The Crisis Response System services shall be implemented as determined by the Administration in collaboration with the core service agency or local behavioral health authority serving each jurisdiction.
(c) Advance directive. -- An advance directive for mental health services under § 5-602.1 of this article shall apply to the delivery of services under this subtitle.
(d) Construction. -- This subtitle may not be construed to affect petitions for emergency evaluations under § 10-622 of this title.
