Each Designated Agency (DA) provides access to an immediate response service and/or short-term assistance for children and adolescents who are experiencing a mental health crisis and their families. Crisis services are time-limited (usually up to 2-3 days) and intensive and include the following:

• Assessment, support, and referral over the telephone
• Crisis assessment, outreach, and stabilization face-to-face
• Family and individual education, consultation, and training
• Service planning and coordination
• Screening for crisis bed (hospital diversion) and for in-patient psychiatric hospitalization