Why LA is pulling the plug on a 911 pilot that sent mental health workers on some calls

Two years after Los Angeles launched a pilot program that dispatched treatment teams from fire stations to mental-health calls, the city-county partnership is ending.

City authorities have cited low patient numbers and ongoing staffing difficulties as reasons for the break. County authorities have said they will continue the program without the city.

The Therapeutic Van Transport Pilot Program was touted as an innovative approach that would allow mental health workers to be embedded into the 911 system, therefore decreasing reliance on law enforcement.

When it was announced in 2020, then-L.A. Police Chief Michel Moore praised the program.

“Rather than looking to yet another program from LAPD, or LAFD, to engage in, it’s pulling things off of our plate and putting them with our mental health professionals,” Moore said at the time.

It was nearly another two years before the program was up and running.

Why it matters

Mental health advocates, lawmakers and law enforcement all have pushed for removing police as much as possible from psychiatric crisis calls. Tense situations can sometimes turn violent when law enforcement is involved.

A recent LAist investigation found that between 2017 and 2023, 31% of shootings by L.A. city police involved a person perceived by officers to be living with mental illness or experiencing a mental health crisis, according to annual use-of-force reports.

How the program worked

Five specially outfitted vans were dispatched out of five fire stations across the city. Each team was made up of a driver, a licensed psychiatric technician and someone who has personal experience with mental illness.

The goal was to send the Therapeutic Transportation teams to non-violent 911 calls involving a psychiatric crisis, without relying on law enforcement. The fleet of vans also allowed the patient to be transported without a paramedic team, freeing up fire authorities for other calls.

What happened?

L.A. Fire Department officials recommended shutting the pilot down at the end of fiscal year 23/24, citing low average number of patients transported per day and an inability of the Department of Mental Health to fully staff the program.

According to the L.A. County Department of Mental Health, less than a third of the nearly 6,000 calls the teams handled since March 2022 met the criteria for further evaluation by a psychiatrist.

What’s next?

Authorities from the county Department of Mental Health said they will work to continue the program without the fire department partnership.

County Supervisor Hilda Solis said this week that she is disappointed in the city's decision to discontinue the funding.

“You can be certain that I will keep working to ensure that the resources DMH put toward [the Therapeutic Transportation Program] will be redeployed to other mobile teams and alternative crisis response teams to make sure our most vulnerable citizens get the proper mental health care they need.”