Co-Response Jail Diversion
Advocates partners with police departments across Massachusetts to provide co-response services for individuals experiencing behavioral health challenges in the community. By pairing licensed clinicians with law enforcement, the model helps ensure that people in crisis receive a safer, more compassionate, and clinically informed response.
Co-response clinicians are embedded within local police departments and respond alongside officers to behavioral health-related calls. They provide on-scene assessment, de-escalation, stabilization, safety planning, brief follow-up, and connection to appropriate community-based services.
This collaborative approach helps reduce unnecessary emergency department visits and criminal legal system involvement when safe and appropriate, while strengthening trust between police departments and the communities they serve.
Co-Response Clinician Services
- On-scene behavioral health assessment and crisis stabilization
- De-escalation and safety planning with individuals and families
- Brief follow-up support after police contact
- Warm handoffs to treatment providers and community resources
- Consultation to police around repeat calls, emerging patterns, and resource coordination
- Training for officers on crisis communication, mental health, trauma-informed response, and officer wellness
