Cherokee Nation Behavioral Health Mobile Crisis Team - The Cherokee Nation Behavioral Health (CNBH) Mobile Crisis Team (MCT) Project will establish a 24/7/365 Behavioral Health Practitioner‑Only mobile crisis response across the 6,950‑square‑mile, 14‑county Cherokee Nation Reservation, home to 521,336 residents, half in rural areas with long travel distances and limited crisis care. CNBH currently has no clinical mobile response capacity, leaving behavioral‑health crises to law enforcement, emergency departments, or no response at all. The project will serve children, youth, adults, veterans, families, rural residents, and individuals lacking transportation or insurance who experience mental health or substance use crises, including serious mental illness, co‑occurring disorders, suicidality, trauma, behavioral escalation, and overdose risk. CNBH will deploy two‑person teams pairing licensed clinicians with Peer Recovery Support Specialists, beginning with weekday coverage and expanding to full 24/7/365 response by 9/29/28. Strategies include suicide‑risk screening, de‑escalation, stabilization, safety planning, crisis counseling, care coordination, and warm handoffs, with 72‑hour follow‑up for at least 75% of individuals and linkage to ongoing treatment for 80% at moderate or higher suicide risk. MCPI will integrate Choctaw Nation Behavioral Health, Tribal Police (co‑responding only when safety requires), Lighthouse CCBHC, Tribal 988, EMS, hospitals, and community partners through formal agreements and unified dispatch and referral protocols. Goals are to expand MCT capacity and coverage; divert crises from emergency departments and arrest (resolving 75% of crises in the community by 9/29/29); reduce suicide attempts and deaths; and build sustainable workforce, partnerships, and infrastructure aligned with SAMHSA priorities. Continuous quality improvement, SPARS reporting, and annual progress reviews will monitor performance.
