EVERETT, SEATTLE, SPOKANE, YAKIMA, Wash., June 01, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today marks the launch of “Return on Response,” a statewide awareness campaign highlighting how partnerships between behavioral health agencies and first responders are transforming crisis response and improving access to mental health and substance use care. The effort is championed by Fourfront Contributor, a leadership and advocacy coalition of community behavioral health agencies in Washington, along with several law enforcement and emergency response leaders statewide.
Co-response teams include behavioral health professionals paired with law enforcement, fire, or EMS personnel to respond to behavioral health crises in real time. Historically, many of these situations were routed through emergency departments or the justice system. Co-response enhances the effectiveness of response by bringing mental health professionals to the scene who can provide assessment, stabilization, and connection to care.
“Co-response is about delivering timely, needs-based intervention at the moment of crisis,” said Jodi Daly, Ph.D., CEO of Comprehensive Healthcare. “By bringing behavioral health professionals directly to the scene, communities see fewer repeat calls, better outcomes for individuals, and more efficient use of public resources. Most importantly, people in crisis are connected to care and support instead of cycling through systems that weren’t designed to meet their needs.”
First developed in Los Angeles in the early 1990s, the co-response model has evolved to meet the unique needs of communities across Washington. In some regions, clinicians ride alongside officers; in others, behavioral health professionals are embedded within agencies and dispatched directly to the crisis scenes. While the structures may vary, the goal remains the same: ensure the right professional responds at the right time and individuals are directed to the right supports.
Fourfront Contributor includes Compass Health, Comprehensive Healthcare, Frontier Behavioral Health and SOUND Behavioral Health – four of the largest community behavioral health organizations in Washington state. Together, they serve communities across urban and rural regions, with a focus on low-income residents who rely on Medicaid.
The coalition has raised concerns that proposed federal changes to Medicaid funding could undermine the behavioral health infrastructure, potentially overwhelming crisis response systems that co-response partnerships were designed to strengthen and that law enforcement agencies, fire departments, hospitals, schools, and communities have come to rely on.
“When funding for community behavioral health takes a dive, communities don’t just lose programs – they lose critical response options,” said Tom Sebastian, CEO of Compass Health. “We're grateful that Washington state leaders preserved Medicaid rates this year, but looming federal changes could push more people to seek care through the crisis system out of necessity. Continued support for co-response programs is essential to helping ensure people get timely care without placing additional strain on our first responders and emergency response systems.”
Through the Return on Response campaign, Fourfront Contributor will spotlight real-world examples of co-response in action and elevate voices of first responders and behavioral health experts who see the impact firsthand.
Central & Eastern Washington Co-Response Models
Yakima County
Comprehensive Healthcare‘s Field Response program demonstrates how integrated behavioral health teams can transform crisis response. The program includes 18 team members, including designated crisis responders, case managers, and peer support specialists, who are embedded with law enforcement agencies, including the Yakima County Sheriff’s Office and the Sunnyside Police Department. These teams respond to behavioral health-related 911 calls across Yakima County, improving systems coordination, building trust, and ensuring community members receive timely, clinically appropriate care.
“Our goal in being part of the Field Response Program is to ensure people receive care that truly meets their needs, while allowing law enforcement to focus on public safety – and we’re seeing that happen,” said Yakima County Sheriff Robert Udell. “When individuals are met where they are, with the right supports in place, situations that might otherwise escalate can be resolved safely. That makes a big difference for the people involved, for our deputies, and for the community as a whole.”
Read more about the Yakima County co-response model
Spokane County
Frontier Behavioral Health operates three co-responder teams with the Spokane Police Department and three with the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office. Behavioral health professionals ride alongside law enforcement officers and respond jointly to 911 calls involving behavioral health concerns. Frontier also partners with the Spokane Fire Department, where behavioral health professionals and paramedics respond jointly to crisis calls.
Across all these partnerships, co-responder teams focus on de-escalation, needs assessment, safety planning, and connecting individuals to services, including crisis stabilization and detox.
According to Rayanne Paget, program administrator for Frontier’s co-responder and mobile rapid response teams, this approach has fundamentally altered how Spokane addresses behavioral health crises.
“Co-response is about dignity and stabilization in the least restrictive way possible,” said Paget. “When behavioral health professionals and first responders work together, people get help faster, and outcomes improve for everyone involved.”
Read more about the Spokane County co-response model
Western Washington Co-Response Models
Whatcom County
Compass Health, Northwest Washington’s behavioral healthcare leader, partners with the Bellingham Fire Department to improve crisis care coordination in Whatcom County. Through the partnership, Compass Health embedded a Community Outreach Designated Crisis Responder (DCR) in the fire department’s downtown station – alongside community paramedics and staff from other local resource organizations.
With direct access to the dispatch system, Compass Health’s DCR can respond immediately to 911 calls involving a behavioral health component. Once on the scene, they lead de-escalation efforts, conduct assessments, and connect individuals to appropriate services.
“Our partnership with Compass Health grew out of what we were seeing on the ground here every day,” said Scott Ryckman, Bellingham Fire Department division chief of emergency medical services. “By bringing emergency medicine and behavioral health together, we’re able to look at each situation more completely and respond in ways that truly support people in crisis.”
Read more about the Whatcom County co-response model.
King County
SOUND Behavioral Health partners with the Tukwila and Burien Police Departments to embed Mental Health Professionals (MHPs) alongside law enforcement officers responding to behavioral health-related 911 calls. These co-response teams provide on-scene assessment, de-escalation, crisis stabilization, and connections to ongoing care for individuals experiencing mental health or substance use crises.
The program, which began in Tukwila as a pilot initiative five years ago, has since expanded to include multiple embedded behavioral health professionals across both communities. SOUND’s co-response model is also supported by its broader continuum of crisis services, including Mobile Rapid Response Crisis Teams (MRRCT), which work alongside local first responders to provide timely behavioral health interventions throughout King County.
“In crisis, minutes matter,” said Joe Vela, crisis services director at SOUND Behavioral Health. “By embedding behavioral health professionals within local first responder agencies, we’re able to get people support faster, improve coordination, and connect individuals to care that can help stabilize situations before they escalate.”
Read more about the King County co-response model.
About Fourfront Contributor:
Fourfront Contributor weaves together the collective size, experience and thought leadership of four of the largest community behavioral health providers in Washington state. The coalition contributes practical, scalable expertise to advocate for sound policy, deploys evidence-based models of care, supports adequate funding, advances knowledge and best practices, and creates systems that improve the health of individuals and communities. More at: fourfrontcontributor.org.
Media Contact
Annie Alley
Firmani + Associates
206-466-2713
annie@firmani.com
