While Budgets Rise, Some Programs Stay Stagnant

Today’s Brief:

• Crisis Intervention Briefs

• Routt County Sheriff’s Office-Based Co-Responder Program

• Salida Council Eyes Slower Growth in Community Grants Amid Tight Budget

• Social Media Briefs

  Total Read Time: 3 minutes

👮 Crisis Intervention Briefs

Hawai‘i Police Department Swells Crisis-Team Ranks with 18 New Certified Officers

The Hawaiʻi Police Department (HPD) added 18 officers, 14 HPD and 4 from the state sheriff’s division, who completed a 40-hour crisis intervention training course to bolster its mental-health response capabilities. The new training brings HPD’s total CIT-certified officers to 98, representing 22 % of its sworn personnel, strengthening its ability to de-escalate encounters and link individuals to community resources.

Mahoning County Officers Graduate from Crisis Intervention Training to Better Serve All

In Youngstown, Ohio, local law-enforcement officers were honored after completing a 40-hour crisis intervention training program designed to improve cooperation between police, mental-health providers, and hospital emergency services. The program, offered by the Mahoning County Mental Health and Recovery Board in partnership with NAMI Mahoning Valley, ensures that each local department has at least one certified officer equipped to handle mental-health-related calls.

Phoenix Police Told They Need More Crisis Intervention Teams, Says Former Commander

A former commander of the Phoenix Police Department argues that the department should have ten crisis-intervention teams but currently operates only two, limiting its capacity to respond effectively to mental-health and behavioral-crisis situations. He emphasizes that while these teams are urgently needed, their responsibilities remain constrained; for instance, they cannot respond when a suspect is armed underscoring the gap in resources and deployment.

Routt County Sheriff’s Office-Based Co-Responder Program:

The new team, comprising Deputy Dawn Smith and Licensed Clinical Social Worker Tracy Dierksen, launched on September 1 in Routt County, Colorado, responding to 911 calls and following-up with citizens in behavioral-health crisis. They operate Tuesday through Friday in defined shifts, work alongside patrol officers but stay longer on scene to de-escalate, assess needs and connect clients to services. Feedback from the Routt County Department of Human Services describes the program as efficient, personalized and having an early-intervention effect that reduces repeat crisis calls. The model was chosen after 18 months of research into co-responder teams and is structured to free up regular deputies for other duties. Community professionals say the approach is shifting crisis response away from arrest or hospitalization toward stabilization, connection and trust-building.

Salida Council Eyes Slower Growth in Community Grants Amid Tight Budget

The Salida City Council held a work session on October 20 where they reviewed the budget for the upcoming year and discussed contributions to the Chaffee County Community Foundation (CCCF). According to the draft 2026 city budget, the contribution to the community grants program will drop well below the historical 1 % of sales tax revenue, budgeting only about $50,000 compared to an expected ~$107,000. The CCCF’s executive director acknowledged the reduction, stating they would not “hold a grudge” while emphasizing how the city’s unrestricted funding has enabled innovative grants not covered elsewhere. The council also agreed to maintain a $25,000 budgeted contribution to a co-responder mental‐health program, despite requests for over $100,000 and questions about usage and effectiveness. Finally, workshop participants heard from the Downtown Colorado, Inc. on downtown revitalization and explored matching-grant strategies to stretch limited budgets further.