MRSS: A Pathway to Stability for Ohio Youth in Crisis
What does a crisis look like for a young person?
For one 13-year-old girl in southern Ohio, it meant withdrawing from the world. After her mother died in a tragic drowning, Olivia (not her real name) spent most of her time alone in her bedroom. Her primary caregivers — her grandparents — struggled with their own health issues, and she saw her father only on weekends. At her middle school, she shared that she’d been having suicidal thoughts.
Help arrived quickly.
School officials called for Ohio’s Mobile Response and Stabilization Services (MRSS), and a trained crisis team met Olivia at school, providing immediate support to stabilize the situation. Over time, the MRSS team connected her to school-based counseling and outpatient therapy. They worked with her grandparents through family peer support to address their grief and support their changing relationship with Olivia. They also helped her father enroll in Medicaid to ensure Olivia’s medical and mental health needs were covered.
This story could have ended in tragedy. Instead, it became a turning point, fostering healing and connecting a network of support to help a young person in need.
That’s what MRSS does.
On April 21, 2025, Governor Mike DeWine announced that in the months ahead, MRSS youth service will expand from 54 to all 88 counties in Ohio. This landmark expansion — made possible by the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (OhioMHAS), the Ohio Department of Medicaid (ODM) and infrastructure developed through OhioRISE — means that more youth than ever will have access to compassionate, timely crisis care, regardless of where they live.
MRSS redefines what crisis care can be: not just a response, but a path forward.
What is Mobile Response and Stabilization Services (MRSS)?
Launched in 2018, MRSS is a no cost, prevention-focused emergency service for youth ages 20 and under who are experiencing acute emotional or behavioral distress and are struggling in their current environment without intervention. It’s designed to reach young people where they are — whether at home, school, or in the community — within 60 minutes of a call to Ohio’s 988 Suicide and Crisis Hotline.
MRSS is more than a moment of de-escalation. It offers up to 42 days of ongoing support if needed, including connections to behavioral health treatment and community-based services and coordination with existing providers. If the youth is already in treatment, MRSS teams ensure those providers are looped in immediately for continued care after the crisis.
MRSS will become a service available under the OhioRISE program, and OhioMHAS and ODM have worked together to create a first-of-its-kind administrative model that ensures those who use this resource get help, regardless of their ability to pay.
A Lifeline for Families and Communities
We know that many of our kids are struggling with greater isolation, anxiety and depression: Suicide is the second-leading cause of death for children ages 10-14, according to the National Institute of Mental Health, and the number of Ohio children diagnosed with anxiety and depression jumped by 42% between 2016 and 2020, according to the KIDS COUNT data book.
MRSS is already making a difference — and demand is growing. From 2023 to 2024 alone, use of the service through OhioRISE increased by 26%.
Parents, caregivers and educators describe MRSS as a lifesaving resource. They say that without it, their children might have ended up in an emergency room, detention center or worse.
“It’s another example of how we’re protecting the mental health of our young people so they can reach their full potential,” Governor DeWine said in announcing the expansion.
To support statewide implementation, 12 regional providers have been selected to deliver MRSS across 18 service regions. Each provider is certified in accordance with OhioMHAS specifications and requirements and is responsible for all aspects of care: initial dispatch, crisis de-escalation, stabilization, quality care assurance and data monitoring.
The future of MRSS in Ohio
Another powerful example of MRSS in action comes from a family facing extreme distress.
John’s mother called the MRSS line during a particularly volatile crisis. John had become increasingly aggressive — damaging property and hitting family members —and the entire family was at a breaking point. When the MRSS team arrived, they found the family arguing in the yard. A family peer supporter quickly engaged John while helping his siblings return indoors to reduce the intensity of the situation. Meanwhile, a clinician helped calm and center his overwhelmed mother.
The crisis revealed deeper systemic challenges: the family was being evicted because their home had been condemned. They had no food, no permanent shelter and no connections to support services. None of the children were attending school.
MRSS became their lifeline.
The team coordinated immediate placement in a hotel and initiated connections to community support. Today, the children are enrolled in school, receive case management and counseling, and participate in peer support and tutoring. The family now has access to food, transportation and ongoing long-term care coordination through OhioRISE and other local agencies. Their family peer supporter remains involved, helping to ensure lasting stability.
In years prior, this all could have unfolded much differently, with the involvement of youth corrections, custody relinquishment and additional family trauma. Today, though, John and his family have not needed to re-engage MRSS — because their crises have been resolved through the sustained services and supports that MRSS helped activate.
In our travels across the state, we often hear from families who don’t know where to turn for help when their child experiences a behavioral health crisis. The expansion of MRSS is a powerful step toward closing that gap. In the months to come, we’ll hear more stories like John’s and Olivia’s that show us what’s possible when we bring care directly to youth and families in their homes and schools and meet them with urgency, care and compassion.
Learn more, request help or explore resources at mha.ohio.gov.
