The Alaska Department of Health, working through its Division of Behavioral Health, commissioned Milliman to identify opportunities to further strengthen and develop the state’s behavioral health crisis care continuum. Focusing on the continuum is an important step toward ensuring more timely, equitable, and effective care for people facing mental health and substance use challenges. In this effort, the initiative built upon the findings of a comprehensive 2024 assessment of Alaska’s crisis services. The primary goal of the current project was to expand both the availability and effectiveness of behavioral health crisis care programs, addressing the needs of Alaska’s diverse communities and the providers who serve them. The approach considers the unique challenges that many Alaskan communities face, such as geographic challenges, workforce shortages, and varying populations. This paper discusses the approach and recommendations, including the following sections:

• Introduction and background: The 2024 assessment and the focus of the current project.
• Mobile crisis response services: A short-term approach of revising current service standards and rates, and a long-term strategy of building a mobile crisis response program.
• Place-based stabilization: Service model recommendations for crisis stabilization services, for both under and over 24 hours.
• Appendices covering the engagement, service definitions, and place-based model comparisons.

This report was commissioned by Alaska Department of Health, Division of Behavioral Health.