For more information about Offender Behavioral Health Services funding, please go to the OBHS page. OBH contracts directly with community mental health centers. Offender Behavioral Health Services funding also supports a number of programs.OBH currently has contracts with eight local government agencies through Jwith an allocated amount of $2.9 Million per year. SB 17-207 (Strengthening Colorado’s Statewide Crisis Response to Behavioral Health Crises) authorized the development and implementation of eight new Co-Responder Programs throughout Colorado.There are four ways Co-Responder Services are funded. Most of the Co-Responder Services are funded from the Marijuana Tax Cash Fund (39-28.8-501 C.R.S). If there is no active behavioral health emergency, you can reach out to the police department directly and ask for more information. How can I find out more about my community’s program? To learn more about CIT in Colorado, please visit. If the team is not available to respond, your local police department may have Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) officers available who can respond, in which case you may request that a “CIT officer” respond if available. Please keep in mind that availability of the programs vary by agency. If your community has a Co-Responder Program, you can always ask for a co-responder or mental health team response if you call your local police department or 911 because of a behavioral health crisis or matter. How can I request a Co-Responder Team response? Generally this approach, most or all officers on duty can request assistance from the behavioral health specialist. The behavioral health specialist is requested to respond to the scene and handles the call with the officer.Generally, this dedicated team only responds to behavioral health related calls, and the officer does not perform the regular duties of a patrol officer. Some programs include other emergency response professionals, such as paramedics. A dedicated team of one or more officers paired with one or more behavioral health specialists who ride together in the same vehicle for all or most of a shift.No. While they all have the same basic elements, there are different approaches programs can take to meet the needs of the community in the most efficient way. Do all Co-Responder programs look the same? These teams utilize the combined expertise of the officer and the behavioral health specialist to de-escalate situations and help link people with behavioral health issues to appropriate services. The Co-Responder model pairs law enforcement and behavioral health specialists to respond to behavioral health related calls for police service. Programs often work with other community resources, providing coordination with various systems of care.Ĭo-Responder Programs also offer formal and informal cross-training between the law enforcement and behavioral health disciplines that generally leads to greater understanding and shifts agency culture.įrequently Asked Questions What is a Co-Responder Program?
This varies by program: some programs follow up as a team, while others send dedicated case management services. Programs also follow up with individuals after they leave the initial encounter. The planning at the end of the encounter depends on a number of unique factors, and outcomes can range from leaving the individual with necessary resources, transporting the individual to a hospital or walk-in clinic, and providing support and resources for family members and others on-scene. On scene, the team works not only to de-escalate the situation, but also provide behavioral health screening and assessment, call disposition planning and referral or linkage to needed services. There are generally two approaches: 1) an officer and behavioral health specialist ride together in the same vehicle for an entire shift, or 2) the behavioral health specialist is called to the scene, and the call is handled together. The program and team structure varies between locations to best meet the needs of the community and the partnering agencies, taking population density and other available resources into consideration. These teams utilize the combined expertise of the officer and the behavioral health specialist to de-escalate situations and help link individuals with behavioral health issues to appropriate services. The Co-Responder model of criminal justice diversion pairs law enforcement and behavioral health specialists to intervene and respond to behavioral health-related calls for police service.