Billings Will Launch Mental Health Crisis Program

A new federal grant will fund a specialized mobile response team for mental health crises in Billings starting in 2027.

Updated on Sept. 23, 2026 in Mental Health

Isometric editorial illustration of a generic medical utility vehicle parked next to a clinical building, representing a new crisis response program. — Yellowstone County will launch a mobile mental health crisis response program in Billings in 2027, funded by a $3 million federal grant. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

Live Poll

Should your community replace some police emergency responses with specialized mental health crisis teams?

Yellowstone County will launch a mobile mental health crisis response program in January 2027 following the receipt of a $3 million federal grant. The initiative aims to support residents by pairing behavioral health clinicians with Billings Fire Department EMTs.

Why it matters

The program provides a dedicated response for mental health emergencies, replacing a previous partnership that ended due to financial constraints. By utilizing a specialized team, officials hope to divert crisis calls away from traditional law enforcement responses.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration awarded the grant for a four-year period. Initial operations will utilize one two-person team working 10 hours a day, seven days a week.

The players

Riverstone Health

This organization is a community health center serving the residents of Yellowstone County.

Billings Fire Department

This municipal agency provides fire protection and emergency medical services for the city of Billings.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

This is a branch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that leads public health efforts to advance behavioral health.

The details

Dispatchers will utilize a 41-protocol system to identify mental health crises and deploy the mobile unit. To ensure safety, the team uses a staging process to wait for law enforcement to clear scenes before providing care and transporting patients to the emergency room.

The federal grant period for the program officially begins on September 30, 2026.
Operations for the new mental health crisis response program are scheduled to launch in January 2027.
The program aims to achieve 24/7 coverage by the end of the second year.
Expansion of services into rural Yellowstone County is planned for the third year.

Health Landscape

This program aligns with national trends established by the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline framework that prioritize diverting mental health calls from law enforcement to specialized clinical teams. The shift represents a broader evolution in medical science toward integrated community-based crisis intervention models.

Residents experiencing mental health emergencies will interact with clinicians and EMTs rather than traditional law enforcement units. This change is designed to ensure a more specialized clinical handoff to the emergency room during crisis situations.

The takeaway

The program emphasizes the effectiveness of pairing medical professionals with emergency responders to de-escalate volatile situations. Residents are encouraged to remain aware of local emergency protocols as dispatchers transition to the new 41-protocol system.