Some mid-Missouri 911 calls to be transferred to 988 | A Brighter Tommorrow [Video]

Changes are coming to how Boone County Joint Communications 911 telecommunicators manages some of the calls it receives. A new partnership aims to connect 911 with 988 to give some people in crisis the best resources. 

“This partnership naturally makes sense,” said Carisa Kessler, the crisis services director for Burrell Behavioral Health’s central region.

Burrell Behavioral Health operates the 988 call center for Boone County. Partnering with BCJC is an effort to better address the mental health needs of the community. 

“I think it was just a matter of identifying where is the need and how can we address that need,” Kessler said. 

911 telecommunicators will soon be able to transfer certain calls to 988 crisis specialists.

“This is an area where our first responders were responding to calls that weren’t necessarily theirs to handle,” Kessler said. 

911 telecommunicators currently manage all crisis calls and potentially dispatch first responders when, …