Johnson, Kansas, located along the border of the state of Missouri, is home to nearly 610,000 residents.
Johnson County Sheriff’s Office (JCSO) operates a co-responder model in which the mental health clinician is employed by Johnson County Mental Health (JMCH). The clinician meets deputies at the site of the call, wearing polo shirts and driving JCMH vehicles. JCSO seeks to enhance and improve its current efforts by adding an additional co-responding clinician. Cohort 2021.
Program Goals
With funding from the grant, it is expected that the additional clinician will nearly double the number of service contacts and the overall impact of the program through the expansion of co-responder service hours. To further support the co-responders and the overall CIT program, JCSO plans to purchase a virtual reality training system that is specifically designed for crisis intervention training.
JCSO reports seeing the following positive impacts from an expanded co-responder model:
- Decrease in use of force and incidents
- Strong partnerships between clinicians and deputies
- Increase in follow-ups, reducing repeat callers
- Increase in diversion from jail to mental health services and treatment
Key Partnership Organizations
Johnson County Mental Health