In observance of the Thanksgiving holiday, all Douglas County Government offices will be closed Thursday, Nov. 28, and Friday, Nov. 29, 2024. Offices will reopen on Monday, Dec. 2, for normal business.
The Community Response Team (CRT), established in 2017, by the Douglas County Mental Health Initiative, pairs a law enforcement officer with a mental health professional to help adults and youth experiencing a mental health crisis avoid the emergency room or jail and, instead, find the support they need to heal.
Each team member fulfills a distinct role to ensure safety, conduct medical clearance, assess mental health, and level of care needs, and facilitate connection to appropriate mental health services during and following a crisis.
For additional information or questions please contact Maggie Cooper at [email protected]
The Community Response Teams and Youth Community Response Teams are unique co-responder partnerships supported by the Board of Douglas County Commissioners, Law Enforcement, Fire/EMS, and Mental Health Providers.
The teams follow up on each call and offer a case management component to ensure people connect to services following a crisis. As part of our commitment to care coordination, work is underway to electronically network our immediate partners, especially hospitals.
The CRT program launched in 2017 with two teams. In 2019 two additional teams were added allowing coverage of the entire county. As of 2023, there are nine teams – including officers and deputies from Castle Rock Police, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, Lone Tree Police, and Parker Police – with response capability seven days a week. Two of those teams focus solely on youth response, covering every school – public, private, and charter – in Douglas County.
As of 2024, these Community Response Teams have responded to 12,696 emergency and non-emergency calls for service and provided crisis intervention, conducted important follow-ups, safety plans and helped nearly 8,000 people get connected with the resources and help they need.
Support for the CRTs is provided through ongoing funding from the Board of Douglas County Commissioners and participating law enforcement and Fire/EMS jurisdictions provide personnel and equipment to the community teams as in-kind program contributions. The Douglas County Community Response Team program also receives a Colorado Office of Behavioral Health grant.
The Douglas County Mental Health Initiative Community Response Team program is the recipient of an ICMA 2018 Local Government Program Excellence Award in Community Health and Safety.
Annual Reports
Interim Reports
Quarterly Reports
Posters
Visit the Colorado Crisis Services for more information. If you or someone you know is experiencing a medical emergency, call 911.
