In 2022, Gov. Mike DeWine promised to prioritize youth mental health during his re-election campaign. This week, he took a significant step in fulfilling that commitment by unveiling the Mobile Response and Stabilization Services (MRSS) in Dublin, Ohio.
The MRSS program, designed to provide timely mental health support for young people in crisis, is now ready to move beyond the planning phase. It’s time for full implementation.
The goal of MRSS is clear: to connect youth in trouble with mental health professionals instead of letting their issues lead to incarceration. Mental health professionals and social workers will be dispatched alongside police to respond to youth crises in schools, homes, and other settings. This intervention aims to offer an alternative to the criminal justice system.
Currently, the program is operational in Lucas, Wood, and Hancock counties. It’s expected to expand to other northwest Ohio counties soon. The MRSS team is trained to arrive within an hour of a call, de-escalate the situation, and provide follow-up care for up to six weeks at home.
The program’s reach is expanding, aiming to cover all 88 counties in Ohio, filling gaps in underserved regions. Some of these areas, particularly in northwest Ohio, include Fulton, Henry, Williams, Defiance, Ottawa, Erie, Sandusky, and Seneca counties.
When DeWine took office in 2019, the program was limited to 13 counties. He now asserts that Ohio will become the only state to offer such a service with no cost to families. “We want to reduce any hesitancy that someone might have to use this service,” DeWine said. “Providing it free ensures there should be no barrier to accessing help.”
Ohio will be divided into 18 regions, each led by one of 12 service providers. Northwest Ohio will be split into two regions. One will be based in Toledo and stretch across rural counties along the Indiana border, while the other will include Bowling Green, Findlay, Sandusky, and most of north-central Ohio.
This expanded initiative is part of DeWine’s broader plan to build up community-based mental health services in Ohio. These services were promised years ago after state-run mental hospitals closed but were never fully delivered.
The MRSS program is a collaboration between Ohio’s departments of Medicaid and Mental Health and Addiction Services, as well as Ohio RISE, which currently serves 46,000 children with complex mental and behavioral health needs.
The program is set to continue being fully funded under the governor’s next two-year budget, which has already been approved by the Ohio House and is awaiting DeWine’s action. This is the crucial year to ensure that Ohio’s youth have the mental health support they need before turning to the criminal justice system.
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