Crisis facilities provide a safe and therapeutic alternative to emergency departments and jails for people experiencing behavioral health emergencies. Program design should center around customer needs which include individuals and families in crisis and key community stakeholders like first responders. Ideally, a crisis system should be organized into a broad continuum of services that ensures care is provided in the least restrictive setting, even for people with high acuity needs, and stakeholders should have a clear understanding of the capabilities of each component facility and the population it can safely serve. This paper provides a framework to help policymakers achieve this goal.