Lane County Ends Riverview Contract, Brings Youth Crisis Response In-House

Lane County will bring youth mobile crisis response into its Mobile Crisis Services of Lane County, absorbing the work previously handled by Riverview Center for Growth, with the shift taking effect March 8. The county said canceling the Riverview contract is necessary "to consolidate funding amid impending budget cuts to Medicaid," and Riverview has since laid off most of their staff members, according to communications tied to the change.

Riverview told community partners in a Jan. 2 letter that its Mobile Crisis Response Program was created in 2005 and "has served children and families in Lane County for more than 20 years." The letter, obtained by local reporters, states that "in the past year alone, Riverview's crisis response teams responded to over 2,600 crisis calls," that "54% were successfully de-escalated through telephone intervention," and that "82% of youth who would otherwise have required emergency department care were safely diverted."

County planning documents and the MCS-LC program page lay out how local access will work. MCS-LC, a program of Lane County Behavioral Health, says "MCS is a program of Lane County Behavioral Health, offering mobile crisis response within Lane County" and that "MCS, and our partners, serve all youth and adults living in Lane County." The county instructs residents that Eugene community members in need of mobile crisis services can call or text 988, call the 24/7 Lane County Crisis Line at 541-682-1001, or call 911, with operators routing calls to Mobile Crisis Services of Lane County as appropriate.

County implementation materials note broader system constraints and planning details. Civiclive briefing notes include the line "RFP for County-wide coverage via subcontractors unsuccessful" and identify an "Opportunity to integrate crisis lines, triage, and mobile response dispatch and standardize services for all community members." The county documents also reproduce the State of Oregon requirement that "mobile crisis intervention services (MCIS) shall be delivered in person, by the County through its’ Community Mental Health Programs (CMHP), to any individual experiencing a behavioral health crisis, regardless of insurance type" and that services be provided 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days per year.

The transition sits alongside mixed signals about other partners. County materials describe White Bird Clinic’s CAHOOTS as part of the crisis system, yet an April 7, 2025 CAHOOTS Service Update on Eugene and Lane County web pages states, "Effective April 7, White Bird’s CAHOOTS program services will no longer be available in the City of Eugene," adding that "Currently, White Bird does not have the financial capacity to provide a full-service mobile crisis service in Eugene." Other county documents still describe CAHOOTS as continuing alternative police-response services for appropriate calls, leaving the precise operational relationship between CAHOOTS and MCS-LC unclear in available materials.

County communications say they "would continue to fund other Riverview services and feel confident that they have enough resources to fully absorb youth crisis patients." The record released so far does not include contract dollar amounts, specific county staffing numbers to absorb the caseload, or exact counts of Riverview layoffs; county planning notes are also truncated in places and an unsuccessful RFP is cited as limiting options. Residents seeking immediate help are urged to use 988, 541-682-1001, or 911, while the county moves to integrate youth crisis response into its MCS-LC operations under the statewide MCIS delivery requirement.