King County bet big on remaking its mental health system. Is it working?


King County, Washington, is building an alternative mental health care system to avoid escalating unnecessary 911 calls and including law enforcement when it’s not necessarily needed. The County created a mental health-focused response team in collaboration with the 988 suicide and crisis lifeline to divert calls that don’t pose a safety risk and help de-escalate situations. The communications center that fields most of the calls says they get about 20 transfers to the 988 line each month.

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