The Mobile Crisis Outreach Team (MCOT) is located at the Crisis Care Center at 1200 Clifton in Waco, Texas. MCOT provides a combination of crisis services, including emergency care, urgent care, and crisis follow-up and relapse prevention to any child, adolescent, or adult in the community. MCOT can be dispatched 24 hours per day, seven days per week, to any location in our 6-county catchment area.

The MCOT provides crisis services for up to 90 days to help individuals who would not otherwise be eligible for MHMR services.

THE IMPACT OF MOBILE CRISIS OUTREACH TEAM (MCOT) ON OUR COMMUNITY

MCOT is a state-mandated program designed to go out into the community to aid individuals in a mental health crisis. We meet people where they are--in their homes, streets, hospitals, or shelters. We build a relationship with the person in crisis to bridge the gap into treatment. We strive to meet the physical needs of people so that they are more inclined to trust us with their deeper needs.

MCOT serves several functions:

  • It serves as a step-down program from psychiatric hospitalization. We aid in reintegrating and working with individuals who no longer meet the criteria for hospitalization but still need intensive support.
  • We link individuals who do not qualify for MHMR services but are in situational crisis with other community providers.
  • We are available to the community for crisis assessments when individuals will not leave their homes to come to BHN.
  • We can aid in admitting qualified individuals into Center services or the hospital.

Our overarching goal is to engage clients in treatment with Heart of Texas Behavioral Health Network (HOTBHN) or other community providers to reduce hospitalizations and inappropriate jail bookings. Locally, MCOT has been operating since mid-December 2007. MCOT is currently staffed by two Licensed Professional Counselors, an RN, and three caseworkers. MCOT services may include crisis assessments in the community, crisis housing support, medication monitoring, needs assessment, and relapse prevention.

Adult Behavioral Network