Rights and Legal Issues

Persons Experiencing Psychiatric Crises: Information for Emergency Department Staff and Others Regarding Available Resources, Protocols, and Requirements

How Do I Contact Crisis Service Providers, and Who Qualifies for Their Services?

The DHHS Office of Adult Mental Health Services contracts with crisis service providers across the state to ensure that crisis services are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week statewide. Crisis service providers can be contacted at all times via a statewide toll free number (1-888-568-1112).

Crisis services are provided to all persons in crisis requesting help. A crisis hotline provides a point of entry into the crisis system and is the least intrusive of the services offered. Mobile crisis services are provided in a variety of settings, including an individual's home, mental health agency, social service agency, jails, public locations and emergency departments of hospitals.

The primary purpose of crisis services is to assess the individual in crisis and determine and assist him/her in receiving the least restrictive, most effective treatment. Crisis services focus on intervention, de-escalation, stabilization, and referral to needed follow-up services.