CATS originated as a response to the emergency department boarding, which is a term used to describe how a patient gets “stuck” in an emergency department because they are not stable enough to go home and there is no access to a higher level of care that matches their needs. In late 2014, a group of stakeholders came together to explore the root causes of this ED boarding and recommend strategies to alleviate the boarding crisis.

One of the recommendations they made was for the state to invest dollars and support for services that could connect with youth and families while at the ED and provide services and family support in the community after they leave the hospital. 

Four counties were included in piloting this model in the spring of 2015.

Due to early successes with the model in these original four counties, more funding was secured and three additional counties were added. With that expansion, the opportunity to understand what was happening at the various sites and what the program outcomes were became of interest to OHA. In 2017, they approached OHSU Child and Adolescent Psychiatry to develop a means to evaluate outcomes and to provide technical assistance and support to the programs.