1270 Natividad Road, Salinas, CA 93906 Phone (831) 755 -4500
M E M O R A N D U M
Date: May 5, 2025
To: Shane VanderVeen, EMS Division Chief, Salinas Fire Department Sam Klemek, Chief, Salinas Fire Department
From: Kelley Molton, LCSW, Behavioral Health Services Manager II Melanie Rhodes, LMFT, LPCC, Behavioral Health Bureau Chief / Director
CC: Carlos Acosta, Chief, Salinas Police Department
RE: City of Salinas / County of Monterey Mobile Crisis Pilot Project
Monterey County Health Department Behavioral Health Bureau (MCBH) is providing a summary and data overview regarding the Mobile Crisis Pilot Project to expand on information previously provided in the memos dated June 28, 2024, November 1, 2024, and January 29, 2025. The M emorandum of Understanding (MOU) between City of Salinas (City) and County of Monterey (County) was finalized in December 2023 for the pilot project to run from December 31, 2023 – January 1, 2025 for a total maximum investment by the City of $390,000. The MOU was subsequently amended to extend the pilot through June 30, 2025 to align with the normal fiscal year budget cycle by mutual agreement and at the recommendation of the City.
Funding provides for a two-person mobile crisis team 40-hours per week specifically to provide mobile crisis response in the City to augment the mobile crisis services provided regionally and countywide.
The additional team funded by this project is operational Monday – Friday from 0800 to 1700 hours and was activated on January 1, 2024. This aligned with MCBH’s expansion of mobile crisis services countywide to 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year effective December 31, 2023.
MCBH spent time in January and February 2024 training and orienting Salinas Fire Department (SFD) personnel on Behavioral Health and Mobile Crisis Services as well as providing important updates to Salinas Police Department (SPD) personnel who have been actively utilizing Mobile Crisis Services since the inception of these services in 2015. To summarize, MCBH provided briefing presentations to SPD at 0700, 1430 and 1900 hours on January 22 & 23, 2024 regarding mobile crisis expansion to 24/7 and the pilot project. MCBH provided training to SFD Platoons A, B & C at 1030 and 1330 hours on January 29, January 31, and February 1, 2024 which included a general overview of the Behavioral Health system of care services, available resources, orientation to mobile crisis services specifically and provided guidelines about types of situations when mobile crisis teams may be helpful for SFD personnel.
1270 Natividad Road, Salinas, CA 93906 Phone (831) 755 -4500
The MOU expanded the availability of mobile crisis response in the City and included response to calls for service requested by both Salinas Police Department (SPD) and Salinas Fire Department (SFD). Both agencies can request mobile crisis support through the Emergency Communication Department (ECD) regardless of the time of day or day of the week, as ECD has been trained on how request these services.
Both SPD and SFD can also make non -urgent referrals to mobile crisis via email to MCBH who coordinates the follow-up.
Monterey County Behavioral Health (MCBH), Sierra Mental Wellness Group (SMWG), and Seneca Family of Agencies collectively comprise the mobile crisis response teams in Monterey County and employ a range of personnel including licensed / license eligible clinicians, mental health rehabilitation specialists, and peers with lived experience who respond in two -person teams to crisis calls in the community. Their professional job titles are as follows: Senior Psychiatric Social Worker, Psychiatric Social Worker I/II, Social Worker III, Crisis Specialist, Peer Support Specialist, Clinician, Clinical Intern, Family Partner, and Support Counselor. Each agency has licensed mental health professionals on -call 24/7 as well for consultation. Additionally, each agency has managers, supervisors, and directors that will respond to calls with their staff for training purposes, to support staffing levels , and when teams are managing complex situations.
The data provided below reflects the utilization of Mobile Crisis Services for the first quarter of 2025 (January 1, 2025, through March 31, 2025) and is followed by the Calendar Year 2024 data previously provided to the City in report dated January 29, 2025.
Q1 2025
Chart 1
From January 1, 2025 - March 31, 2025, Monterey County Behavioral Health (MCBH) and our contract provider partners, Sierra Mental Wellness Group (SMWG), and Seneca Family of Agencies (Seneca) received a total of 340 mobile crisis requests for service in the City of Salinas.
1270 Natividad Road, Salinas, CA 93906 Phone (831) 755 -4500
Mobile Crisis responses / encounters are primarily done in person. Although the Department of Healthcare Services (DHCS) and MCBH allow for the use of telehealth services in response to crisis encounters; due to safety and overall quality of care for the individuals / families in crisis and the community, in-person response is preferred and encouraged. Telephone calls are used frequently as a means of engaging individuals prior to a mobile crisis contact or home visit, to collect additional information from the individual in crisis and/or the reporting party, and as a means to provide follow - up support.
Chart 2
In the City of Salinas from January 1, 2025 – March 31, 2025, thirty-seven percent (37%) of crisis calls were initiated by SPD, none from SFD, and sixty-three percent (63%) of calls were initiated by another non-emergency source.
Demographic data shows that more than half (5 6%) of mobile crisis contacts in the City were with individuals who identified as female, while 5 9% of all contacts were with individuals who identified as Hispanic. (see charts 3 and 4 below)
Chart 3 Chart 4
1270 Natividad Road, Salinas, CA 93906 Phone (831) 755 -4500
Chart 5
Data shows that by age group served, the most mobile crisis responses in the City were to support those 0-15 years of age (34%) which is an increase from the prior quarter’s report, followed closely by adults 26-64 years of age (29%), then transitional aged youth / young adults aged 16-25 (24%), and 8% of the calls were to support older adults (65+).
Mobile Crisis Services and follow-up support occurs in a variety of settings. Additional locations include but are not limited to outpatient clinics (for behavioral health or primary care), public places in the community, foster care homes, supported hous ing programs, an individual’s apartment or home, or other locations that enable the individual to accept help in a crisis. Mobile Crisis response times in the City vary depending on a variety of factors such as call volume, time of day, traffic, and staffing. During this time period, response times for mobile crisis indicate: 11% were under 15 minutes; 34% between 15-30 minutes; and 36% of calls were between 30-60 minutes.
Countywide from January 1, 2025 – March 31, 2025, a total of 1,611 crisis calls were received by the crisis lines serving Monterey County resulting in 471 mobile crisis dispatches. The majority seventy- one (71%) percent of calls to the crisis lines serving our community are stabilized over the phone with only twenty-nine (29%) percent being referred for a mobile crisis response. Seventy-two (72%) percent of the mobile crisis calls for service were for a response in the City of Salinas.
1270 Natividad Road, Salinas, CA 93906 Phone (831) 755 -4500
Data collected for Calendar Year 2024 as part of this pilot project was previously provided, however is reflected below for reference and convenience.
CY 2024 Data
From March 1, 2024,
through December 31,
2024, Monterey County
Behavioral Health
(MCBH) and our contract
provider partners, Sierra
Mental Wellness Group
(SMWG), and Seneca
Family of Agencies
(Seneca) received a total
of 834 mobile crisis calls
in the City of Salinas.
In the City of Salinas from March 1, 2024 – December 31, 2024, forty percent (40%) of crisis calls were initiated by SPD or SFD, while sixty percent (60%) of calls were initiated by another non-emergency source.
334
202
26 106
7 5
2 493
52 237
204
T O T A L
M CBH
S ENECA
S M W G
# OF CALLS INITIATED BY SPD AND SFD
SPD SFD Other Referral Source
MCBH, 259,
31%
SMWG, 312,
37%
Seneca, 263,
32%
Total Mobile Crisis Calls within the City of Salinas
1270 Natividad Road, Salinas, CA 93906 Phone (831) 755 -4500
Demographic data shows that more than half (52%) of mobile crisis contacts in the City were with individuals who identified as female, while 57% of all contacts were with individuals who identified as Hispanic.
Data shows that by age group served, the most mobile crisis responses in the City were to support those 26-64 years of age (34%), followed closely by children/youth 15 or under (30%), then transitional aged youth / young adults aged 16-25 (23%), and 7% of the calls were to support older adults (65+).
1270 Natividad Road, Salinas, CA 93906 Phone (831) 755 -4500
Countywide from March 1, 2024 – December 31, 2024, a total of 6,650 crisis calls were received by the crisis lines serving Monterey County resulting in 1,579 mobile crisis dispatches. The majority Seventy- six (76%) percent of calls to the crisis lines serving our community are stabilized over the phone with only Twenty-four (24%) percent being referred for a mobile crisis response. Fifty-three (53%) percent of the mobile crisis calls for service were for a response in the City of Salinas.
Below are some insights and considerations based on what has been learned thus far through the City / County mobile crisis pilot project.
• Most SFD non-medical calls that would be appropriate for a mobile crisis response often also have SPD already on scene. In these scenarios, SPD typically are the agency requesting mobile crisis response.
• Non-urgent referrals received from SFD focused mainly on housing and homelessness issues. • Data reveals the City of Salinas consistently makes up more than 50% of the total mobile crisis calls for service in Monterey County.
• SPD continues to make regular requests for this resource. Over the course of the pilot project, SPD requested Mobile Crisis services 460 times and accounts for twenty-two percent (22%) of all mobile crisis calls in Monterey County.
• During Q1 of 2025, the City of Salinas made up more than 2/3 of the total calls for mobile crisis support services.
• Other partner agencies operating in the City of Salinas that request support from Mobile Crisis include the Department of Social Services, school districts, private and public medical and mental health providers, nonprofit agencies, and private citizens / community members. In Q1 of 2025, we have s een an increase in calls for mobile crisis support from these other referral sources to respond to locations within the City of Salinas.
MCBH appreciates the ongoing collaboration with the City of Salinas in service to our community and we look forward to our continued partnership.