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Today's Brief
A student's laptop was stolen, and the officer taking the report called the clinicians
Missoula's crisis team handles most calls without police, and Broward deputies get a clinician on a tablet
$2 million crisis pilot grants due November 19, and crisis jobs paying up to $105K
Seattle's 14 empty crisis responder jobs face a budget hearing November 5
Total read time: 4 minutes
Real Impact
A University of Florida student showed up at the campus Disability Resource Center in serious distress after a laptop was stolen. A UFPD officer arrived to take a theft report, but the student was too upset to get through it, so the officer called in the department's co-responders. The clinicians calmed the situation down, and the officer finished the report.
UFPD launched its co-responder program in June 2022 and now has two clinicians riding with six officers. In the 2024-25 year the team took 163 behavioral health calls, and on 55% of the calls where hospitalization was on the table, it found a less restrictive option. The full story covers what those options were and why Officer Alex Wanzenberg says shared shifts matter when a decision has to be made fast.
Who to Contact:
University of Florida Police Department Co-Responder Program (Meggen Sixbey, Ph.D., Assistant Director, Behavioral Services Division): 352-392-1111 (UFPD main line)
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Program Upgrades
Two Ways to Get a Clinician to the Call
Calls have more than doubled since 2021, and the team still goes off the clock most nights around 8 p.m. Helena found Medicaid math that made 24/7 coverage affordable, and Missoula is weighing whether it can do the same.
The Broward Sheriff's Office pilot connects CIT deputies and mobile integrated health paramedics to an on-call clinician in real time, with nobody driving to the scene. The question is how much a clinician on a screen can do.
Resources
Funding Watch
New York OMH: Health-led Crisis Response Pilots, Round 2. Up to $2 million per award, four awards, three-year terms. One tier funds 911 dispatch of non-police responders like fire or EMS, and the other funds clinician-staffed mobile crisis teams. Proposals are due November 19.
Springfield, OR: Mobile Crisis Services (RFP 4263). The city wants a provider to add mobile crisis capacity on top of what Lane County already runs. Questions are due November 5 and proposals are due November 23.
Connecticut OPM: Byrne SCIP state share. The state is taking applications for its share of federal Byrne State Crisis Intervention Program money, which has funded CIT, co-responder and deflection programs in other states. Applications are due December 18. If your state hasn't opened its SCIP round yet, ask its administrator when it will.
On the Calendar
Virginia CIT Conference, Roanoke, November 16 to 18. Register through your local CIT coordinator.
Rx and Illicit Drug Summit, Nashville, March 29 to April 1, 2027.
American Association of Suicidology Annual Conference, Dallas, April 11 to 15, 2027, with a session cluster on 988, mobile crisis and walk-in centers. Abstracts are due November 20.
Now Hiring
Crisis Response Unit Co-Responder, Adams County Sheriff's Office, Commerce City, CO. $69,125 to $96,775. Closes November 11.
Crisis Response Clinician, HEART, City of Durham, NC. $68,038 to $105,466.
Mobile Health Support Responder, CARE Team, Chapel Hill Police Department, NC. $50,000 to $53,000. Closes December 31.
Mental Health Professional, Mobile Crisis, SC DBHDD, Barnwell County. $51,039 to $72,000. Closes November 23.
Under Pressure
The mayor's 2027-2028 proposal pauses hiring for 14 vacant Community Crisis Responder positions in the CARE department, and council analysis says that keeps dual-responder service at 19 hours a day. CARE's chief says the positions are being held, and the final public hearing is November 5. If your own expansion depends on seats that are still empty, expect to hear the same argument.
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