Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
<br />ORD-2025-032 <br />ORANGE COUNTY <br />BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br /> Meeting Date:October 7, 2025 <br /> Action Agenda <br /> Item No.8-q <br /> <br />SUBJECT: Approval of Budget Amendment #2-A to Fund the Mobile Crisis Team Pilot <br />(CARE) with Grant Funding Awarded to Alliance Healthcare <br /> <br />DEPARTMENT: Emergency Services, County <br />Manager <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />ATTACHMENT(S): <br />FY 2025-26 Alliance Health Budget <br />Form Expansion <br />August 22, 2025 Memorandum from <br />NCDHHS <br />Year-To-Date Budget Summary <br /> <br />INFORMATION CONTACT: <br />Caitlin Fenhagen, 919-245-2303 <br /> Kirby Saunders, 919-245-6123 <br />Kim Woodward, 919-245-6133 <br /> <br />PURPOSE: To approve Budget Amendment # 2-A to provide grant funding for an additional year <br />and expansion of the Mobile Crisis Pilot – the Crisis Assistance, Response and Engagement <br />(CARE) Team – in collaboration with Alliance Healthcare and the Town of Chapel Hill. <br /> <br />BACKGROUND: The CARE Team is a three person mobile unit that responds to 911 and crisis <br />calls in lieu of law enforcement or emergency medical services (EMS). The mobile team includes <br />a crisis counselor, a peer support specialist and an emergency medical technician (EMT). The <br />mobile team is complemented by a fourth position, a crisis counselor who is embedded in the 911 <br />Call Center. The CARE Team is a collaboration between Orange County and the Town of Chapel <br />Hill. The Pilot started operation in May 2024 under the direct supervision of the Chapel Hill Police <br />Crisis Division, and with joint oversight by leadership at the Chapel Hill Police Department Crisis <br />Division, Orange County Emergency Services, County EMS and the Criminal Justice Resource <br />Department. <br /> <br />Alliance Healthcare provided start-up costs for the CARE Team in FY 2023-24 and sought and <br />received a grant from the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS), Divison of <br />Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Use Services, for Orange County in the <br />amount of $579,500 for FY 2024-25. The CARE Team’s coverage was limited to Chapel Hill calls <br />and the hours of operation were from 8:00am to 4:30pm. <br /> <br />In FY 2024-25, the CARE Team responded to 1,040 events and served 349 unique individuals. <br />93% of the responses did not result in any criminal charge. Only 5% of the responses required <br />transport to a hospital for a medical emergency, and only 7% required transport to a hospital for <br />behavioral health care. <br /> <br />Orange County and the Town of Chapel Hill requested expansion funding for FY 2025-26 that <br />would allow the CARE Team to provide coverage to Carrboro and and extend the service hours. <br />1