New joint program between PermiaCare and local law enforcement agencies
PermiaCare has teamed up with the Midland County Sheriff's Office and the Odessa Police Department to secure funding for a co-responder program for the communities of Midland and Odessa. The Texas Health and Human Services Mental Health Grant for Justice Involved Individuals with Behavioral Health Conditions (Senate Bill 292) will provide funding for a co-responder model of criminal justice diversion, pairing up law enforcement and behavioral health specialists to intervene and respond to behavioral health-related calls. These teams utilize the combined expertise of the law enforcement officer and the behavioral health specialists to de-escalate situations and help link individuals with behavioral health issues to appropriate services, a news release said.
On scene, the team works not only to de-escalate the situation, but also provide behavioral health screening and assessment, call disposition planning and referral or linkage to needed services. The planning at the end of the encounter depends on several unique factors, and outcomes can range from leaving the individual with necessary resources, transporting the individual to a hospital or walk-in clinic, and providing support and resources for family members and others on-scene. Teams also follow up with individuals after they leave the initial encounter.
The City of Midland and Ector County currently operate crisis response systems for individuals with behavioral health conditions that are typical for the State of Texas utilizing TCOLE trained mental health deputies, police officers, and PermiaCare crisis workers responding independently. Sometimes these responses are separate and other times they are collaborative, with everyone involved. While this is highly effective and remains a positive and necessary aspect of a good crisis response system, adding co-response can lighten the burden for all, improve efficiency, improve communication, and unify the mission, the release said.
Across Texas, co-responder teams are increasing rapidly because they reduce arrests, use of force, and receive positive feedback from law enforcement and mental health professionals. Co-response increases collaboration and communication between law enforcement and mental health professionals, which helps build better relationships between the agencies to increase referrals and identify gaps in coverage. The teams understand each other better and act with a unified mission and purpose. By providing individuals in crisis with access to mental health treatment and support, co-responder programs can help reduce the risk of harm to both the individual and the community which creates a safer and more resilient community overall. Improved mental health support decreases the cost of incarceration, decreases the use of costly emergency departments, and prevents unnecessary mental health related hospitalizations and transport.
How is the co-responder program funded? PermiaCare is a conduit for state and federal grant funding to support a wide array of social service needs, which includes programs to support individuals with mental illness, intellectual disabilities, and substance use disorder. Utilizing our connection to State funding, PermiaCare applied for a Texas Health and Human Service Needs and Capacity Assessment entitled, "The Mental Health Grant for Justice Involved Individuals" or Senate Bill 292. This category of grant requires local support through cash or in-kind match at a rate of 50%.
The Odessa Police Department, Midland County Sheriff's Office, and PermiaCare receive a full program of staff for 33 cents on the dollar, with the State of Texas covering the other 67 cents. A review of the County Jail Diversion options in 2018 identified approximately 19% of the census of a Jail were estimated to have mental health conditions and charges that met the parameters for diversion. The 2022 PermiaCare Community Needs Assessment identified Crisis Intervention Services as the largest mental health services gap in the community.
The co-responder program will provide a great asset for the local community and assist with managing the flow of crisis to the new Permian Basin Behavioral Health Center (PBBHC) to ensure its capacity is focused on the most appropriate populations. PermiaCare anticipates the co-responder team will support approximately 450 justice involved individuals with mental health concerns per year. PermiaCare expects the program to begin operations June 1, 2025.
Despite progress in mental health initiatives, more than 30 million people in the U.S. still lack access to comprehensive, high-quality care. These statistics highlight the ongoing need for Mental Health Awareness Month and the importance of bringing attention to this disparity:
— 1 in 5 U.S. adults experience mental illness each year.
— 1 in 20 U.S. adults experience serious mental illness each year.
— 1 in 6 U.S. youth have a mental health condition, but only half receive treatment.
— 50% of all lifetime mental illness begins by age 14, and 75% by age 24.
— In 2023, 20% of all high school students seriously considered suicide.
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Time Magazine
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- Time Magazine
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They are designed to achieve therapeutic benefits without requiring absorption into the blood or uptake into the brain, giving them the potential to be a safer alternative to other pharmacological options if successfully developed and approved. Vistagen is passionate about developing transformative treatment options to improve the lives of individuals underserved by the current standard of care for multiple highly prevalent indications, including social anxiety disorder, major depressive disorder, and multiple women's health conditions, including vasomotor symptoms (hot flashes) associated with menopause. Connect at Forward-looking Statements This press release contains certain forward-looking statements made by Vistagen within the meaning of the federal securities laws. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks that are difficult to predict and include all matters that are not historical facts. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the use of words such as 'may,' 'could,' 'expect,' 'project,' 'outlook,' 'strategy,' 'intend,' 'plan,' 'seek,' 'anticipate,' 'believe,' 'estimate,' 'predict,' 'potential,' 'strive,' 'goal,' 'continue,' 'likely,' 'will,' 'would' and variations of these terms and similar expressions, or the negative of these terms or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by Vistagen and its management, are inherently uncertain. These uncertainties, risks, and other matters are more fully discussed in the section entitled 'Risk Factors' in filings Vistagen makes with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) from time to time. Vistagen's SEC filings are available on the SEC's website at You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which apply only as of the date of this press release and should not be relied upon as representing Vistagen's views as of any subsequent date. Vistagen explicitly disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements other than as may be required by law. If Vistagen does update one or more forward-looking statements, no inference should be made that Vistagen will make additional updates with respect to those or other forward-looking statements.
