Howard County Executive Calvin Ball has announced a new cross-agency task force to evaluate how local government responds to crises involving people with disabilities and neurodivergences.

Established through Executive Order 2026-08, the Task Force on Disability Inclusion, Safety, and Crisis Response will review current policies, procedures, and coordination efforts related to behavioral health emergencies, emergency communications, and frontline response systems.

The effort reflects growing nationwide conversations about how local governments train and equip emergency responders to interact with residents experiencing behavioral health crises or who may require specialized accommodations and support.

According to the County, the task force will focus on four primary areas:

• training for frontline county employees, including law enforcement, EMS, social workers, and community health workers
• coordination and communication among organizations serving people with disabilities and neurodivergent individuals
• on-scene response protocols during behavioral health crises
• emergency communication systems, including 911 protocols, 988 coordination, and mobile crisis response teams

The task force includes representatives from county government agencies, behavioral health organizations, hospitals, disability advocacy groups, schools, crisis response providers, and community members with lived experience; a true interdepartmental effort.

From the county press release:

“In Howard County, we place a high value on protecting the safety, health, dignity, and wellbeing of people with disabilities and neurodivergent individuals,” County Executive Ball said in the announcement. “It is imperative that our policies and procedures governing crisis response … are appropriately effective and reflect community values of equity, dignity, safety, and inclusion.”

The Autism Society of Maryland will serve as co-chair alongside Howard County Government. For local governments, these kinds of initiatives highlight the increasingly interconnected roles of public safety, behavioral health, disability inclusion, and emergency response systems. It’s important that Maryland counties continue to seek creative ways of navigating/strengthening crisis response coordination while balancing public safety, accessibility, and community trust.

The task force is expected to provide recommendations to the County Executive by November 2026.