Carers of individuals with an intellectual disability are often responsible for managing their children's psychiatric crises when they arise. The purpose of this study was to examine the experiences of families using crisis and short-term transitional supports from the perspectives of families and of crisis and transitional support staff. Three focus groups were conducted. Families and staff were asked to discuss their positive experiences and challenges when accessing and utilizing crisis and transitional support services. Families and staff spoke about their positive experiences with crisis and transitional supports, the staff characteristics that enabled these positive experiences, the challenges they encountered with crisis and transitional support services as well as the general service system, and the impact that these service limitations had on families. Findings highlight the importance of understanding family needs in order to help them address crises before, during, and after they occur. (Contains 1 table and 1 footnote.)