Thesis advisor: Thanh V. Tran / ABSTRACT This dissertation has the following specific aim: to measure outcomes of social work emergency certificates produced by a Mobile Crisis Team to determine the effectiveness of these certificates at linking clients to services. Linkage to services is a programmatic goal and is achieved by ensuring clients receive adequate crisis and follow up services as a result of Emergency Certificates. In doing so, risks of homicide, suicide and grave disability are mitigated. Under its administrative umbrella, Mobile Crisis Team operates a police-social work collaboration known as Crisis Intervention Team, and both are administered by the State of Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services in southeastern Connecticut. The data comes from 233 consecutive cases that involved Emergency Certificate's to transport clients to the local emergency department for psychiatric evaluation and treatment. Data was gathered post-hoc by reviewing copies of each specific certificate and cross-referencing those certificates with an agency risk management report and an electronic data base that stores demographic data on all clients. Descriptive, bivariate and multivariable analysis, such as cross tabulations and binary logistic regression, were used to analyze the data in this study. Additionally, the chi-square automatic interaction detector (CHAID) was used to construct outcome trees to describe subgroups of interest. This research is a continuation of previously published research on the various permutations and outcomes of mobile crisis programs, and contributes two unique programmatic features: the use by social workers of a legally proscribed coercive tool to send people to the emergency department for assessment, and the effectiveness of police-social work collaborations compared to social work only referrals. Overall, linkage occurs in over 80% of cases, with significant predictors of linkage identified as substance abuse, Hispanic ethnicity, criminal justice involvement, suicide, affective disorders, and insurance status. Implications for program evaluation, future research and limitations of the study are also discussed / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2009. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Social Work. / Discipline: Social Work.