Salt Lake County’s Assertive Community Treatment Teams Expand to Support More People Experiencing Severe Mental Illness

Salt Lake County, UT– Salt Lake County recently added a new Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) team that will serve an additional 100 individuals dealing with serious mental illness and expanded another ACT team from its capacity of 50 consumers to 100. With this expansion, Salt Lake County now has five ACT teams, each with a capacity of 100, serving some of our most vulnerable county residents.

An ACT team is the most evidence-based community mental health treatment program for individuals suffering with severe mental illness. This person-centric multi-disciplinary team includes therapists, nurses, prescribers, case managers, and peers. The team is often referred to as a “hospital without walls” because they go where the client needs services, including in-home visits and to homeless shelters.

ACT teams focus on individuals with serious mental illness who struggle with traditional outpatient services. These individuals are high utilizers of emergency services, hospitals, homeless shelters, and jails.

Tim Whalen, division director of Salt Lake County Behavioral Health Services stated, “Salt Lake County believes in evidence-based services. Providing access to ACT teams for some of our most vulnerable residents gives them the best chance to stay connected to the community and to having a meaningful life. We appreciate the partnership with our provider agencies: Valley Behavioral Health, Volunteers of America (VOA) and Odyssey House.”

In addition to 24-hour emergency assistance, the ACT team provides time-unlimited services; community-based services–when and where needed; and provides direct services via the team instead of referrals.

“We know that many of our community members experiencing homelessness also suffer from severe mental illness. Increasing ACT team members and availability allows us to increase supportive interactions with and resources for hundreds of individuals,” said Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson. “This effort is integral to Salt Lake County’s Human Services, Homelessness, and Criminal Justice Action Plan.”

The first VOA ACT team initially launched in Salt Lake County in July of 2014. The ACT team is a Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) national best-practice model with strict fidelity standards.

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