Programmatic Overview 

Launched in June 2021, this program allows 9-1-1 call takers to divert certain calls from law enforcement to experienced mental health professionals through the 988 helpline when appropriate. The 988 helpline is available 24/7, 365 days a year and is staffed by mental health clinicians who provide mental health assistance via telephone through de-escalation, crisis aid, and referrals to additional resources. Mobile crisis teams are dispatched to provide in-person aid should the 988 helpline determine that an in-person response is necessary.

Program Goals

The goal of the 911 Diversion program is to match individuals to the most appropriate and available resources when they call for help. This is done by: 

• Diverting certain behavioral health 911 calls from law enforcement to experienced mental health professionals through the 988 helpline 
• Reducing unnecessary police and emergency personnel encounters with people in behavioral crisis 
• Promoting the use of calling the 988 helpline through outreach, education, and promotion 
• Exploring continued evaluation and expansion of diversion call types

Behavioral Health 911 Diversion Program Timeline 

Date: June 2021
Milestone(s): 24/7 diversion pilot launches with 2 call-types (25A01 and 25A02 “non-suicidal & alert” and “suicidal & alert”).
Public diversion dashboard goes live (updated quarterly). ¹
Why it matters: First city-wide mechanism to route behavioral-health crises away from police. 
Essential transparency metric for Monitor & community. 

Date: Second Quarter, 2022
Milestone(s): Third call-type added (25B03 – actively threatening suicide).
Why it matters: Shows agility — protocol expanded after ~one year’s data. 

Date: 2023 - 2024
Milestone(s): Baltimore participated in Harvard Government Performance Lab’s (GPL) Alternative 911 Emergency Response Implementation Cohort. 
Why it matters: GPL assisted the program in identifying additional behavioral health call types to recommend for diversion in collaboration as well as developed initial set of goals and scope for the embedded clinicians in 911.  

Date: First Quarter, 2024
Milestone(s): +5 new call-types covering altered-level-of-consciousness; youth ≥ 12 yrs and 2nd-party callers become eligible.
Why it matters: Program now covers seven call-types and a larger age range. 

Date: March 2024
Milestone(s): Embedded BH clinician begins in the 911 center BCRI contract.
Why it matters: Real-time support for call-takers; quarterly impact reviews under way. 

Date: April 2025
Milestone(s): Embedded BH clinician begins in the 911 center Baltimore Crisis Response Inc. (BCRI) contract.
Why it matters: Real-time support for call-takers; quarterly impact reviews under way. 

Date: April 2025
Milestone(s): New embedded clinician begins and a new evening shift is added.     
Why it matters: This expands the program’s capacity to respond to behavioral health crises during high-volume evening hours, improving timely access to care.

 

¹ The dashboard will go under review with the Data Informed Outcomes Subcommittee in the summer of 2025 to refresh and get stakeholder input. 

Monthly Quality Assurance/Quality Improvement Meetings 

The monthly QA/QI meeting is the program’s quality engine: a standing, data-driven huddle where dissect diverted—and missed—behavioral-health calls, track key metrics, and assign fixes. It turns raw call data into immediate training tweaks and long-range protocol changes, ensuring the diversion pathway stays safe, compliant, and continually improving.

911 Diversion Quarterly Strategy Meetings 

These meetings were launched in early 2024 to give senior partners a space to have strategy conversations regarding the diversion program. This space is the diversion program’s steering wheel—aligning policy, staffing, and funding decisions that can’t be solved in the monthly QA huddle, while keeping consent decree priorities in clear view.

Core participants:

• Mayor’s Office 
• 911 leadership & embedded BH clinician
• BHSB
• Baltimore Crisis Response Inc. 
• Baltimore Police Department
• Baltimore City Fire Department 

Recent take-aways examples (as of June 2025):

• Developed a 911 behavioral health diversion work plan in the first quarterly meeting that continues to drive the agenda for these meetings. 
• Iterated on the clinician goals and work plan and continue to reference during these sessions.  
• Second-party callers are the biggest fidelity gap – call-takers divert only when a diagnosis is clearly stated; training refresh and a job-aid redesign are underway.
• QA capacity needs a program manager – the first strategy meeting flagged that monthly data work is outstripping existing staff; the QA program manager was then developed.
• Clinician pilot expanding to evenings – BCRI hired a second clinician to cover high-volume evening hours.
• Continuous evaluation for expansion