UC Berkeley is leading the evaluation of an initiative to transform how emergency call centers (ECCs) respond to behavioral health crises. This project addresses the need for effective and empathetic crisis intervention by implementing and evaluating a “Person Centered Triage Approach” (PCTA) across multiple sites.

PCTA integrates evidence-based strategies into ECC operations. The chief goals are to rapidly identify mental health calls, elicit callers’ perceptions of violence risk, and work collaboratively with callers and responders to manage crises as non-invasively as possible. By using structured decision frameworks and scripts for direct caller engagement, this approach seeks to enhance procedural justice and build trust, especially in underserved communities.

Our qualitative evaluation focuses on the effectiveness of PCTA staff training in embedding these strategies to improve decision-making and caller interactions. Feedback loops will ensure the approach aligns with its goals of shifting practices toward person-centered crisis responses.