About the Atlas

The Crisis Continuum Atlas is a community-built map of every U.S. county's behavioral health crisis services, structured around SAMHSA's 2026 National Guidelines for Behavioral Health Crisis Care.

Why diversion-first?

A well-functioning crisis system diverts people away from emergency departments and inpatient hospitalization. The Atlas places hospital-level care on the far right of the continuum — a last resort, not the front door. Empty slots on the "Map your community crisis continuum" board visualize gaps that drive avoidable ED use and hospitalization.

Service definitions

All definitions are drawn from SAMHSA's National Guidelines for Behavioral Health Crisis Care (2026).

Data sources

• Population: U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2024 county population estimates.
• Service definitions: SAMHSA National Guidelines for Behavioral Health Crisis Care (2026).
• Crisis continuum data: submitted by community contributors, verified annually.