Picture a 911 call about a man pacing outside a convenience store, talking to people who aren't there. In most cities, patrol officers take that call. In a growing number, a police officer and a mental health clinician arrive together. That pairing is called co-response. This guide covers what a co-responder program is, how the teams work, how co-response compares with CIT and mobile crisis teams, what the research shows, and why some programs last while others fold.

A co-responder program pairs law enforcement officers with trained mental health clinicians who respond to behavioral health calls together. The Congressional Research Service describes co-responder teams as officers and clinicians "who together respond to emergency calls," often with the clinicians embedded in the police agency (CRS, 2022). The clinician is usually a licensed social worker or counselor employed by a local behavioral health provider. The officer handles scene safety, and the clinician assesses the person, de-escalates and connects them to care.

The goal is to resolve crisis calls without an arrest or an unnecessary emergency room trip, and to free officers for other calls. A 2021 research review sponsored by the Bureau of Justice Assistance calls co-response a police-based model and notes "substantial variation in the definition and delivery of co-responder team programs" from one community to the next (BJA research review).

Programs differ mostly in when the clinician gets involved. CRS describes two approaches:

Lincoln, Nebraska shows what an embedded program looks like day to day. Clinicians from CenterPointe, a local nonprofit provider, work inside the Lincoln Police Department and pick up calls from officers, 911 telecommunicators and radio monitoring. In its first year the unit handled 366 calls, and 248 people got help that ended the need for further emergency intervention (10/11 NOW). By September 2026 the unit had taken 589 calls and resolved 93% of them on scene without involuntary intervention (10/11 NOW).

Co-response sits between two other models, and many communities run all three. CRS separates them by who responds:

SAMHSA's 2025 national crisis care guidelines list co-responder teams as one model of mobile crisis service, a change from the 2020 version (Crisis Now). For a full look at the officer-training model, see our guide, What Is a Crisis Intervention Team (CIT)?

The research is encouraging, with a caveat. The 2021 BJA-sponsored review found "promising effects" in several areas: better de-escalation, more connections to services, fewer arrests, less officer time on calls and less strain on hospitals. Because programs are built so differently, the authors said the model's effects are hard to measure systematically.

The strongest recent evidence comes from San Mateo County, California. Stanford's John W. Gardner Center evaluated a pilot that paired clinicians with police in Daly City, Redwood City, San Mateo and South San Francisco starting in December 2021. Communities with the program saw involuntary psychiatric holds drop by about 16% and calls recorded as mental health incidents drop by 17% (Stanford Gardner Center). The researchers estimated roughly 370 fewer involuntary holds over two years and annual savings of about $300,000 to $800,000 (CalMatters). The study found no measurable change in arrests or use of force at the community level, because these calls rarely ended in either.

Dr. Shannon Cubria Farris, writing in Police1, lists the patterns behind programs that fold (Police1):

Budget pressure is real. Sheboygan County, Wisconsin's 2027 budget cuts county funding for the City of Sheboygan's co-responder program from $470,112 to $225,112, citing flat state and federal dollars (WHBL).

Most programs combine city or county budgets, behavioral health dollars and grants. Recent examples from our tracker:

See what's open now on our Co-Responder Grants and Opioid Settlement Funds Tracker.

A co-responder is a mental health clinician who goes on crisis calls with police. The officer keeps the scene safe while the clinician assesses the person, de-escalates the situation and connects them to treatment or follow-up care instead of jail or an emergency room when that's appropriate.

They are different models. CIT trains police officers to handle mental health calls themselves. A co-responder program sends a clinician with the officer or brings one in after officers arrive. Many departments run both.

Usually a police officer or sheriff's deputy and a licensed mental health clinician, such as a social worker or counselor, who is often employed by a local behavioral health provider and embedded in the department.

A 2021 BJA-sponsored research review found promising evidence of fewer arrests and less officer time on calls. A Stanford evaluation in San Mateo County found about 16% fewer involuntary psychiatric holds, with no measurable change in arrests because these calls rarely ended in one.

Pay varies by region and license level. In October 2026, co-responder clinician postings on our job board in Colorado paid about $69,000 to $107,000 a year.

Badges and Behavioral Health covers co-responder, CIT and crisis response programs every week. Subscribe to get the stories in your inbox.