Worksheet: Dispatch Model Comparison—What Works Best for Your Jurisdiction?

Use this chart to assess which dispatch entry point will work best for triaging calls to your community-driven crisis response.

Questions to Consider:

1. Is there an established process for communication among all emergency and non-emergency response lines? If so, which entity is responsible for monitoring and evaluating this process?
2. Does your jurisdiction provide cross-training in mental health, trauma, substance use for all emergency and non-emergency response line call-takers and administrators?
3. Have all agencies involved in emergency and non-emergency response agreed on clear protocols for when calls should be redirected to another agency?
4. Have the agencies involved in emergency and non-emergency response identified a process for identifying the “familiar faces” in the community and whether they require special response or case management needs? If so, how is this information communicated across all agencies?

4: Community Responder Program (CRP) Staffing

Many communities are adding community responders, or a non-law enforcement response, to their options for addressing crisis calls. As best practices continue to emerge for these relatively new programs, there are different programming and staffing options to consider.

Worksheet: Recruitment and Staffing

Use this worksheet to track activities related to recruiting, staffing, and training staff for your community responder program.

Planning for Community Responder Program (CRP) Design

Preparing for Hiring and Program Implementation

Ongoing Program and Staff Support

Questions to Consider:

1. Have the partnering agencies identified which call types will be responded to by the community responder program?
   • Will this impact the staffing needs of the program?
   • Will the responders be deployed alone or in two-person, three-person, or four-person teams? Or will there be a combination of team sizes depending on the call type?
2. Will a government agency house this program or will it be implemented by a different entity or new agency?
3. How will the job descriptions reflect the community’s needs?
4. Have the partnering agencies determined the logistics required to secure uniforms, cell phones, vehicles, radios, laptops/tablets, and office space?

5: Use of Data to Inform Decision-Making

Applying local data is essential for informing planning and implementation; staffing capacity needs; programming decisions, such as hours of service and geographic placement of services; and the make-up of the responding team. Post-implementation tracking of the outcomes of each crisis response program or service informs the need for protocol changes, highlights service needs, and helps makes the case for sustaining the programs/services over time.

Worksheet: Data Inventory Checklist

Once the components of a community-driven crisis response system are operating, planning team members must routinely collect data regarding their daily functions and activities to evaluate performance and success. Collecting and evaluating this data illustrates what aspects of the programs/services are working, what elements need to be changed, and if goals are being met.

Although data collection details will vary from program to program, several metrics are routinely collected. Below is a list of these commonly tracked metrics to use as a starting point. For reference, note the following definitions:

• Call (for service) = the initial communication received by the crisis line
• Response = The responder/team was dispatched to the scene or the crisis was responded to by phone
• Encounter = Engagement with a client/patient
• Referral = The client/patient received information to access a service

Call and Response Data Metrics²

Outcome Metrics⁴

Existing programs frequently track not only how many crises/incidents they respond to, but also the type of crisis/incident (e.g., mental health, substance use, public disturbance, public indecency, homelessness, etc.). Further, many existing programs also independently track the types of services that are provided in the course of each response (mental health assessment, wellness check, resource provision, medical care provision, referrals, transportation, etc.).

Questions to Consider:

1. Does your planning team intend to establish a subcommittee to capture and analyze aggregated and deidentified baseline data on behavioral health-related calls for service?
2. If so, list subcommittee partners and staff with the necessary expertise and capacity to complete baseline data collection.
3. Will this subcommittee create a data collection plan?
4. Who will have access to the data and how you will ensure that Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA)/privacy laws are followed in any data sharing or reporting?
5. If you have baseline data available, is it ready for analysis and reporting?
6. How do the data metrics you will collect align with the goals of the crisis response programs/services? Community priorities? Advisory group priorities?
7. Do the individual crisis response programs/services plan to conduct outcome and/or process evaluation(s)?
8. Will you share any data that is accessible to the public (e.g., through data dashboards)? If so, how will you ensure that the data shared is transparent while adhering to privacy laws?

6: Safety Protocols and Wellness for All Individuals

Safety for everyone involved in a crisis call—including the person in crisis, responders, and other members of the public at the scene—must be the highest priority. Ensuring that all staff are trained on safety protocols, properly equipped, and supported with back-up as needed must be standard protocol. To support the continued well-being of both staff and community members after crisis calls occur, conduct post-call follow-up with the person who was in crisis and their family; hold post-call debriefs with staff; and include trauma care in staff protocols.

Worksheet

Use the chart below to document protocols that promote safety and well-being for all individuals on the scene.

[1] This can include practicing trauma-informed de-escalation techniques, supporting positive interactions among everyone involved, 24/7 consultations to an on-call supervisor, and equipping staff with rapid response communication devices.

[2] Checks can be done in a variety of ways (one-on-one sessions with a supervisor, licensed mental health clinician, or screening tools to assess burnout). Note that this role can be particularly stressful for people who are working as peers or who have their own mental health conditions or a lived experience with crisis systems, making wellness checks critically important for these staff.

[3] This will vary depending on the structure used. For example, many community responder teams dispatch 2-4 responders per call.

Questions to Consider:

1. Has the planning team determined the call types or situations that would require calling for back-up (e.g., unforeseen medical situation, if someone becomes violent, etc.)?
2. Who are the partners that you will need to work with to develop safety and wellness protocols for everyone involved in the call response (including the person in crisis)?
3. Will staff be cross-trained on safety protocols?
4. Will staff receive training/information about how to access staff wellness resources?

7: Financial Sustainability for Community-Driven Crisis Response Programs and Services

Sustainability planning should begin at the onset of the programs and services that comprise your community-driven crisis response system. If a program received a grant to support start-up costs, investigate options for future funding sources—including federal, state, and local sources, as well as philanthropic/private foundations. Leveraging the quantitative data collected to demonstrate successful outcomes (see Section 5), as well as qualitative data via stories from individuals benefitting from the services, will support your case for additional funding.

Worksheet: Identifying Existing Resources Chart

• List the specific funding sources used (or that you plan to use) to pay for the various components of each program/service. Include current and future (already awarded) funding sources. Use the Find a Federal Funding Opportunity database to explore and identify new federal funding opportunities.
• Complete the remaining columns for each of the funding sources that you listed.
• Note any restrictions on funding uses (e.g., funding can only be used for community-based mental health treatment, etc.).
• Identify the relative flexibility of each funding source to help you decide in what order to apply resources to the overall budget for each program/service.

[Name of Program/Service]

[Name of Program/Service]

[Name of Program/Service]

[Add additional rows as needed.]

Questions to Consider:

1. Have you considered which program components will require future funding planning?
2. Have you considered funding from a variety of sources (e.g., federal grants; federal entitlements such as Supplemental Security Income [SSI] or Medicaid; Veterans Benefits; state, local, philanthropic, foundation funding, etc.)?
3. Do your programs leverage resources (money, staff, or in-kind supports) from a larger or pre-existing effort? If not, consider if there are partners that might be interested in supplying resources to support this initiative or how you could work together to achieve a common goal.
4. What data metrics are your funders interested in? Are you able to collect and report out on that data consistently?

Do you have plans to conduct program evaluations, including a survey of people served by each program, the results of which can be used to advocate for funding?

8: Legislation to Support Community-Driven Crisis Response Programs/Services

As you plan to enhance your community-driven crisis response system, you may identify barriers that require legislative changes or funding streams that could open up with legislative support. For these situations and others, it is important to cultivate relationships with key legislators and develop champions and a platform for your work.

Worksheet: Building Buy-In and Support for Legislation

The planning team should complete many of the activities in the worksheet below. Note that some of these items may be duplicative of the activities in Section 1 on stakeholder and community engagement.

Questions to Consider:

1. What is the communications plan/community education plan for discussing the benefits and needs of community-driven crisis response programs/services with the community?
2. How can you identify, engage, and uplift the voices of people with lived experience of behavioral health crisis in your advocacy for legislation that supports your community-driven crisis response programs/services?
3. What is your plan for handling opposition to the legislation that supports community-driven crisis response programs/services (i.e., anticipating the political landscape in advance)? How can you address any potential concerns from the community?

Endnotes

1. “Familiar faces” refers to community members who frequently encounter criminal justice, behavioral health, and social service systems.

2. These metrics highlight whether services successfully meet the needs of the community, the ability of community-driven crisis response programs to respond to calls they receive, and how frequently individuals are using the program.

3. Count each person only once.

4. These metrics measure whether the program is meeting its stated goals. By analyzing whether individuals are accepting treatment or are being diverted from emergency services, program staff can determine which elements of the program work and which are lacking.

5. This can include practicing trauma-informed de-escalation techniques, supporting positive interactions among everyone involved, 24/7 consultations to an on-call supervisor, and equipping staff with rapid response communication devices.

6. Checks can be done in a variety of ways (one-on-one sessions with a supervisor, licensed mental health clinician, or screening tools to assess burnout). Note that this role can be particularly stressful for people who are working as peers or who have their own mental health conditions or a lived experience with crisis systems, making wellness checks critically important for these staff.

7. This will vary depending on the structure used. For example, many community responder teams dispatch 2-4 responders per call.

This project was supported by Grant No. 2019-MO-BX-K002 awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance. The Bureau of Justice Assistance is a component of the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the Office for Victims of Crime, and the SMART Office. Points of view or opinions in this document are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.