Case Study: Harris County improves mental health crisis response with Verizon Business mobile collaboration solutions

Harris County leverages technology to support their community

Harris County worked with Verizon Business to help the Harris Center for Mental Health and Intellectual and Developmental Disability improve crisis response when law enforcement encounters situations involving mental health. With a mobile workforce spread across 86 care locations and staff who could not always be on site, the organization needed a more flexible, agile way to support officers and deliver better outcomes for people in crisis.

Verizon Business helped implement the Clinician and Officer Remote Evaluation (CORE) Program using Apple iPad devices, secure mobile connectivity, collaboration tools, and device management solutions. The system lets deputies connect in real time with mental health clinicians during calls, helping de-escalate incidents and improve care; the program has supported thousands of constituents, 73% of deputies said the clinician-plus-technology approach helped de-escalate situations, and nearly half of the people who spoke with a mental health professional in Phase III were seeing the Harris Center for the first time.

Harris County

Wayne Young

Chief Executive Officer