Director of Anne Arundel County Mental Health Agency’s Crisis Response System to Join Sarbanes as 2023 State of the Union Guest

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman John Sarbanes (D-Md.) today invited Jennifer Corbin, Director of the Anne Arundel County Mental Health Agency's Crisis Response System, to be his guest for the State of the Union Address on Tuesday.

Jennifer Corbin leads the Anne Arundel County Crisis Response System, which is one of the most innovative crisis intervention systems throughout Maryland and the entire country. The Crisis Response System (CRS) started as a federally funded pilot project under the then-Maryland Mental Hygiene Administration in 1999. It was developed to assist law enforcement in helping residents who are experiencing mental health or substance use disorder crises. The system started with a "Community Warmline" and a Mobile Crisis Team (MCT), both available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to provide supportive assistance and connect residents to resources, diverting them from the criminal justice system. With the assistance of several Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) grants and local funding sources, the system now also focuses on underserved populations including children, individuals experiencing homelessness, individuals who are incarcerated and veterans.

"Anne Arundel County's Crisis Response System is a nationwide model for the delivery of comprehensive crisis services and has improved the health and well-being of many Marylanders during emergencies," said Congressman Sarbanes. "I am proud to recognize Jennifer Corbin and her team for their service on behalf of our families in Maryland. As President Biden lays out his plan for the future of our country this week, I want to lift up this team and their thoughtful, innovative approach to care as an example for other state and local agencies as they work to effectively, appropriately respond to individuals in emotional distress. We must build on last year's bipartisan success by enacting legislation that deploys these tools and strategies to address the mental health and substance use disorder crises nationwide."

Congressman Sarbanes joins Crisis Intervention Team Officer Jennifer Spieth, Crisis Response System Director Jennifer Corbin and Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman.

Congressman Sarbanes secured $2.5 millionfor the Anne Arundel County Emergency Operations Center in the Fiscal Year 2023 omnibus spending package. This funding will improve the local Emergency Operation Center's coordination and interoperability with other agencies by allowing it to conduct a needs assessment of its current configuration and implement its findings in a new, optimized facility design.

Along with this funding, the Fiscal Year 2023 omnibus spending bill enacted a bipartisan packageof bills to reauthorize programs that collectively support mental health care and substance use disorder prevention, treatment and recovery services. This legislation, the Restoring Hope for Mental Health and Well-Being Act, included the Congressman's legislation to improve mental and behavioral health outcomes for children and adolescents.

The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, an historic new law enacted by President Biden to reduce the incidence of gun violence, invests $150 million to support the implementation of the 9-8-8 Suicide and Crisis Lifelineand $120 million over four years to prepare and train community members and first responders on how to appropriately and safely respond to individuals with mental health disorders. To help first responders better intervene in emergencies, the House also passed robust public safety bills, including two bills aimed at investing in evidence-based community violence intervention initiatives and training and dispatching mental health professionals to respond to behavioral health emergencies.