Collaboration between law enforcement and behavioral health providers expands to improve crisis response for people with mental health and substance abuse disorders

The Eastern Jackson County (EJC) Co-Responder Program is a partnership between two community behavioral health centers - ReDiscover and Burrell Behavioral Health, five police departments in Jackson County, Missouri, and the Mid-America Regional Council (MARC). The program embeds mental health clinicians within police departments to respond alongside officers to 911 calls that involve mental health, substance use or a related crisis. The goal of the program is to connect individuals with appropriate services and support, reduce unnecessary contact with the criminal justice system and improve public safety. 

In 2020, MARC began administering a grant through the Bureau of Justice Assistance and the Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program to support the collaboration. Over the past four years, the program has grown to include the cities of Blue Springs, Grandview, Independence, Lee’s Summit and Raytown, Missouri. And a new “floater” co-responder position now serves smaller communities including Buckner, Grain Valley and Oak Grove. Since the program’s launch, co-responders have provided 1,969 on-site assessments out of 8,009 (about 25%) mental health-related calls for service. 

ReDiscover recently conducted a survey of participating police departments, asking law enforcement personnel for feedback on the co-responder program and their ability to respond to mental health calls. Out of 107 respondents, 83% agreed that the co-responder program is “beneficial to me and my role.” Eighty-eight percent would recommend using co-responders to other officers and/or police departments. 

Additional comments about the program include:

• “Having the co-responders has been a wonderful addition and I hope we get to continue working with them.”
• “This is one of the most beneficial and well-run mental health initiatives that I have seen in almost 40 years in this industry. It's a keeper and should be in ALL police departments!”
• “Our co-responders are a real force multiplier. We are very glad to have them here.” 

Funded through 2026, the co-responder program has three primary objectives: 1) develop consistent data collection and response protocols across all partners, 2) provide new annual training opportunities to co-responders and additional law enforcement officers, and 3) develop a replicable co-responder model that can be shared and presented throughout the broader Kansas City region. 

For questions about the EJC Co-Responder Program or other microregional initiatives supported by MARC, please email Lauren Palmer at lpalmer@marc.org.