Larimer County receives award for police, mental health response program

Larimer County law enforcement agencies received an award to help fund their mental health co-responder program.

The model is one where police officers team up with behavioral health specialists to respond to incidents where a person may need crisis intervention for mental health or substance abuse issues. The Loveland Police Department has had its program for two years and other Larimer law enforcement agencies decided last year to adopt a similar program.

The grant award comes from the Colorado Department of Human Services Office of Behavioral Health, and the funding will allow the Larimer County Sheriff's Office, Fort Collins Police Services and the Loveland Police Department to implement tools that will pair trained behavioral health specialists with police.

The program aims to de-escalate situations during crisis-related calls and assist residents who need access to resources but are not necessarily engaged in criminal activity to serve as a criminal justice diversion program.

Mental health specialists from SummitStone Health Partners as well as the police officers themselves will be trained to work together to help individuals get access to the resources they need. In turn, officials hope it will help avoid costly alternatives for taxpayers such as sending people struggling with mental or substance abuse issues to emergency rooms or the jail. It also is expected to lighten the load on officers who regularly deal with calls that take time but do not revolve around criminal activity.

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Larimer County requested about $450,000 for the first 18-months of the program in partnership with the law enforcement agencies, SummitStone, UCHealth and the county's criminal justice services. The award amount has not yet been announced. Larimer County is one of eight award recipients across the state.

According to a Larimer County news release, the county program could receive up to $362,500 per year of funding from the state's Marijuana Tax Cash Fund after the first term of the program for three additional years.

"We are very pleased to receive this grant to assist deputies in responding to incidents of persons in mental health or emotional crisis,” said Larimer County Sheriff Justin Smith in the release. “While having co-responders won't resolve every situation, these professionals can be a valuable tool for the community and for the deputies in the field."

Loveland Police Department Chief Bob Ticer called the co-responder partnership model a "win-win for everyone involved," including the community.

"The Loveland Police Department is grateful for this funding and continuing partnerships to help those community members in crisis in a professional, compassionate, and efficient manner," Ticer said in the release.

The award comes at a time when Larimer County officials are working again toward a plan for creating a county mental and behavioral health campus after voters voted down the effort in 2016. The county identified a potential site for the facility earlier this month.

Reporter Saja Hindi covers public safety and local politics. You can follow her on Twitter @BySajaHindi or email her at shindi@coloradoan.com.

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