Expanding Behavioral Health Access: Is 24/7 Service the Next Step?

Today’s Brief:

• Briefs on Behavioral Health

• A Tandem Approach to Crisis: Columbia Embarks on Co-Responder Partnership

• Honolulu’s Women’s Court Finds New Shore in Kona—A Second Act Begins

• Social Briefs

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🧠 Briefs on Behavioral Health

Local Crisis Access Becomes a Reality in Delaware County

Belmont Behavioral Health is launching a new crisis response center that will offer 24/7 psychiatric care close to home. For program leaders, it’s a real-world example of how building localized access points can reduce ER strain and make care more immediate.

Leadership Bench Strength: Innercare Elevates Behavioral Health to the C-Suite

By appointing Daniela Vela Hernandez as Chief Behavioral Health Officer, Innercare is signaling the importance of dedicated leadership at the executive level. For other programs, it’s a case study in how strong governance can steer expansion and sustainability.

Scaling Student Wellness: Anne Arundel’s $9M Playbook

Anne Arundel County is channeling $9 million into school-based behavioral wellness, from embedded therapy to crisis intervention and prevention supports. Programs across the country can look to this as proof that multi-million-dollar investments are possible when schools and funders align.

Sponsored by: Julota

A Tandem Approach to Crisis: Columbia Embarks on Co-Responder Partnership

Columbia Police Department is exploring a 911 co‑responder model that pairs mental health professionals with officers on crisis calls, aiming to bring behavioral health expertise directly to the scene. The initiative builds on years of planning, with CPD issuing bids back in 2023 and considering earlier proposals dating to 2016. Officials, including Chief Jill Schlude and Fire Chief Brian Schaeffer, are actively vetting service providers, mindful not to replicate existing programs or waste taxpayer dollars.

A similar model in nearby Grandview, managed in partnership with ReDiscover, has radically shifted responses: co‑responders review radio dispatches proactively, accompany officers, and help divert nearly 20% of calls away from inpatient settings. The embedded mental health professionals bring a depth of training, resource knowledge, and HIPAA‑protected access that law enforcement alone can't match. For programs in the behavioral health space, this move illustrates how cross-sector collaboration can reshape crisis response, improve client outcomes, and optimize resource use.

(read on to find out how Honolulu is lowering mass incarceration)

Honolulu’s Women’s Court Finds New Shore in Kona—A Second Act Begins

The Women’s Court, a transformative diversion program launched in 2023 to help justice-involved women heal from trauma and addiction through treatment, parenting support, and employment skills, is now expanding to Hawaiʻi Island. A pilot in Kona will begin next month with 14 women already enrolled in the district’s drug court, offering a chance to scale gender‑responsive, trauma‑informed support beyond Oʻahu. With oversight from Judge Wendy DeWeese and likely bolstered by 2025 legislation making the court permanent and funding the Kona pilot, it’s a pivotal moment for community-focused justice leaders watching how place-based behavioral health interventions can reshape outcomes.