“Acting as the Face of a Broken System”: Challenges Experienced by Mobile Crisis Workers

Abstract In 2020, United States federal legislation established the 988 Suicide & Crisis Hotline to divert mental health crisis calls away from standard emergency services, including law enforcement. The hotline’s creation has increased interest in and demand for comprehensive crisis intervention services. Among these services, mobile crisis (MC) teams are a core component. Expanding MC services, however, requires understanding the needs of and supporting the MC workforce. To inform these efforts, this qualitative study draws on first-hand perspectives on the challenges of MC work expressed by a national sample of MC workers ( n = 364). Findings indicate MC workers experienced challenges across five primary domains; challenges related to structural characteristics of MC work, resources, the workplace and workforce, provider mental health, and behavioral health (BH) and criminal justice (CJ) systemic factors. Further, findings indicate that challenges related to the structural characteristics of MC work effected or were often compounded by issues pertaining to resources, workforce, mental health, and systems. Results revealed the need for improvements in several areas, including betterment of working conditions through implementation of a trauma-informed work environment, clarification of agency policies and procedures, development of training standards, increasing role clarity between MC workers and collaborators, and increased investment in community mental health resources and service systems.