Governor Hochul announces $13 million available to expand home-based crisis intervention services for children and youth

ALBANY, NY- Governor Kathy Hochul today announced the availability of more than $13 million in state funding to expand access to Home-Based Crisis Intervention teams throughout New York State.

Administered by the state Office of Mental Health, this funding will help create 13 new teams and expand 26 existing ones, enabling them to provide critical mental health services so that at-risk children and youth can avoid psychiatric hospitalization.

"Hospital settings can be distressing for anyone, much less a child or young person contending with a mental health issue," Governor Hochul said.

"Home-Based Crisis Intervention teams provide vital mental health care to these individuals in surroundings familiar to them so that they can avoid the emotional trauma often associated with hospitals. Expanding these teams statewide will allow more families to receive this care at home and help reduce the need for hospitalization."

The Office of Mental Health will provide $6.2 million to create 11 new teams to serve children and youth between the ages of 5 and 21, who are at imminent risk of psychiatric hospitalization.

OMH is also providing $7.3 million to expand existing teams serving children in crisis.

There are 26 teams statewide, which assist roughly 2,600 children.

Image via the office of New York Governor Kathy Hochul.