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Volume 14, Issue 2
August 2005
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East Metro Children's Crisis Service Partnership
Responding to kids in crisis – when and where they need it
Children experiencing a mental health crisis need the appropriate level of care at the
appropriate time—something that until now has been difficult to find. Data shows that
average wait times for children presenting with a psychological or emotional crisis at an
emergency room can be 3-5 hours, and only half of those children end up being admitted to
in-patient units. The other half is released back into the community, often without adequate
follow-up or ongoing services in place.
In an effort to improve outcomes for children having a mental health crisis, Ramsey, Dakota,
and Washington counties have developed the East Metro Children’s Mental Health Mobile
Crisis Response and now offer the following mobile mental health crisis services for children:
- On-site response in 30 minutes to children in homes, schools, or institutions
- 24/7 availability (except for Washington County)
- De-escalation and crisis intervention services, including de-escalating the crisis,
performing a thorough assessment to determine any mental health issues, and creating an
initial crisis plan
- Crisis stabilization services, which provide appropriate short-term care (up to 2 weeks),
transition to on-going treatment, and crisis recurrence reduction strategies
East Metro mobile teams are able to arrive at a home within 30 minutes and have deescalated
and stabilized more than 90 percent of their initial crisis calls, with the child staying
at home. During the initial visit or later as a part of crisis stabilization services, the children
and families are connected to additional community resources.
The services are provided by licensed mental health professionals (or mental health
practitioners under the supervision of a mental health professional) in each county by the
following existing mental health providers: Ramsey County/St. Paul Youth Services
Children’s Crisis Response, Dakota County Crisis Response Unit, and HSI (Human Services,
Inc.) Mobile Crisis Response.
Crisis response and crisis stabilization services are covered by Medical Assistance (MA) and
most local major health insurance companies. In Ramsey and Dakota counties services are
available to anyone regardless of ability to pay or insurance type. In Washington County,
services are dependent on insurance type. To access these services call:
- Ramsey County – 651-774-7000
- Dakota County – 952-891-7171
- Washington County – 651-777-5222
For more information on these services, to set up an in-service training, or to order free East
Metro Children’s Crisis Service (EMCCS) brochures, contact the EMCCS coordinator at 651-645-3688.
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165 Western Avenue North
Saint Paul, MN 55102
Phone: 651-644-7333
1-800-528-4511
Fax: 651-644-7391
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