[{"_1":2,"_86":-5,"_87":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,74],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":56,"_73":56},"mediaId",6586480,"mediaKeyId","5496686-e2bcca859c599f45f6795c672321abe4","parentId",5496686,"title","Larimer County co-responder unit expanding but faces clinician vacancies and a funding shortfall","audioSeconds",859,"startMs",2056000,"endMs",2915000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5496686-e2bcca859c599f45f6795c672321abe4&start=2056&end=2915","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5496686-e2bcca859c599f45f6795c672321abe4/thumbnail_2056000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6586480/Larimer-County/Colorado/Larimer-County-co-responder-unit-expanding-but-faces-clinician-vacancies-and-a-funding-shortfall","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6586480-f62e631dc5b7d145e5eb34817d12009c/orig.mp4?Expires=1771155201&Signature=TEMctfEqTwTXETWkIErIx5GDPcBoUVBd7QPCkb29f5Y-IRvDmf1SG8yonFDHMXzkjM0EHMbYEt0dNGEkH3tVNonk~iK6Pfox3go5w7RnjJmKQysjcouzqLdDQA4GLCpEwYS4CnJJy1KNOgqqGZAHf08mzehHZ5Uw8Fx-qOh8m6izojTQKHEJMXYcUeID4mTV2dSTyfrSt2JKm~1v0JhkpIX0nfePMlCNB4ppgUTsDXuLfbArvzM-yuaIUuy8Oig589HhV23rhAIpJVQQEr31PzrCU-GvjTvuR3rKWe~ZmDADMph02yL2aHCffJ1unONKNZT5Iy1V~8FiCQp8kv2U6w__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","","date","2025-07-29T06:03:37Z","article","The Larimer County Sheriff's Office reported July 28 that its co-responder program has expanded coverage and reduced arrests and hospital transports, but the unit faces clinician vacancies and a funding shortfall that could affect future staffing.

Sergeant Robert Cook summarized current staffing and results: the unit currently has \"5 deputy positions, 6 clinicians, 1 corporal, and 1 sergeant,\" providing four community response teams plus a fifth team embedded in Thompson School District, he said. Cook said the unit handles about \"68 percent of all the calls that come in for service for mental health, substance use, or a combination of the two,\" enabling patrol units to avoid those calls.

Program outcomes cited by Cook included a low arrest rate and reduced emergency department transports: \"only about 2.8 percent [of contacts] result in a criminal arrest\" and about \"10 percent of our subjects contacted were placed on a hold and went to area hospitals.\" In contrast, roughly \"52 percent of our subjects that we contact were placed on an involuntary hold,\" Cook said, noting many others accept voluntary transport after de-escalation.

Funding and staffing concerns: Cook said the unit had received roughly $550,000 from the Regional Opioid Abatement Council (ROAC) in prior years to help fund deputy positions added in 2023, but for the current year that ROAC amount dropped to $284,000, which \"only pays for about 60% of what the costs are.\" He said clinician funding had been supported by grants and SummitStone contracts but that one SummitStone clinician position has been vacant for more than two years and a SummitStone clinician supervisor role remains unfilled.

Operational issues included differing vendor views about clinician equipment. Cook said clinicians prefer an outer, removable vest carrier so clinicians can remove it in the office and put it on for field work and be more identifiable in the community; \"SummitStone has a different opinion on that,\" he said, and the parties remain at an impasse.

Board members asked about expansion to other school districts: Cook said discussions with Poudre School District have occurred, but PSD cited limited resources. Commissioners also asked for ride-along opportunities; Cook and staff said commissioners could schedule them.

Ending: Commissioners thanked staff for the unit's work and said they would explore ways to address the funding and operational issues identified by the sheriff's office.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","BOCC Work Session 7/28/25, 10 AM - Progress Update on 2024-2028 Strategic Plan","oneSentenceSummary","Sheriff's Office reported staffing, successes and a funding gap for its co-responder teams; the unit handled most mental health/substance-use calls but officials said clinical vacancies and a cut in ROAC funding created uncertainty.","taxTitle","Larimer County, Colorado","taxId",4545,"location","headline","shortSummary",{"_33":75,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":76,"_41":77,"_43":78,"_45":79,"_47":80,"_49":81,"_51":82,"_53":83,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":84,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":85,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":56,"_73":56},6586484,"Larimer County says website largely compliant with new accessibility rules but warns of remaining gaps and fines",832,1122000,1954000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5496686-e2bcca859c599f45f6795c672321abe4&start=1122&end=1954","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5496686-e2bcca859c599f45f6795c672321abe4/thumbnail_1122000.jpg","/articles/6586484/Larimer-County/Colorado/Larimer-County-says-website-largely-compliant-with-new-accessibility-rules-but-warns-of-remaining-gaps-and-fines","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6586484-3f2af9e33005ec5b0482b9440e7c60fd/orig.mp4?Expires=1771155201&Signature=TEhmd2QjcU4b5lHchpJ1z0lA0LnHzMmlMH06cObDZFK6lE8nTNU16W8n1hqz3BCd7VUW2ve1MctmM76akXlEM9Od09Sct7Nnj2zK5R1rjAQMiy75W5bDWNpmeGKXaNGF2GBmvycAGKbCch~6yGD9gQFYM2Gy7XTC1OnLqeXxjujRl~yK7gsQtSJyeZZaWO2tfsXq14D7D85yg8eVUrLkFTdBsaVWmFNWLMq6aignD-d4jtS4jKYhDyhUEkj2Xnli-IS5Ie7x7HQSC6xTEJCjVDd7NYIxCGXlatE1caNxz6X6bhXpsK9i5-8wIGOmo1qEFViC~Own4HiS-XXElyU5XQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Larimer County officials told the Board of County Commissioners on July 28 that the county meets the new state requirement to publish an accessibility statement but remains short of full compliance with technical accessibility standards for online content and services.

Mackenzie Lowe, Larimer County's ADA coordinator, told the board, \"We meet that part of the law 100%\" when referring to the requirement for an accessibility statement, and added the county is \"95% of the way there\" on broader technical compliance.

Why it matters: County staff said the state rules that came out in May take effect this year and include a July 1 compliance expectation. Officials warned there is financial and legal risk for remaining noncompliant: Mackenzie Lowe said \"the risk for noncompliance is basically a fine for every single little instance,\" and that federal enforcement remains possible through the Department of Justice.

County staff described the remaining work as operational: implementing a vendor roadmap, expanding staff training, changing procurement practices and prioritizing which documents remain PDFs versus which should be converted to web pages. \"We just want to stop the bleeding,\" the ADA coordinator said of efforts to limit new inaccessible content being posted online.

The county's consultant recommended four primary actions that staff have begun to adopt: digital accessibility training for staff, procurement and development changes to prioritize accessibility, a stronger process for reasonable accommodations and focused prioritization of legacy PDF material for remediation. Staff emphasized the practical limits of technology: some content (for example, detailed building plans) currently requires alternative accommodations such as descriptive phone or in-person explanations.

Board members asked about public engagement and state collaboration. Lowe said the county has received feedback from community groups on issues such as video captioning and PDF accessibility and that \"there's a lot of that collaboration going on\" with other local governments. County manager Lorinda Volker and staff also noted internal \"accessibility cafes\" for the teams that maintain web content and that an internal resource hub with training is being stood up on the county intranet.

Next steps include implementing the training program and vendor roadmap and adding sustainable processes so staff do not repeatedly create inaccessible content. Lowe said the county is moving from short-term fixes to a sustained compliance program and will return with updates as implementation continues.

Ending: Commissioners praised the work and asked staff to provide more detail on timelines and the county's ability to respond to individual complaints and remediation requests.","County staff reported the county meets the state's accessibility-statement requirement but is about 95% compliant with other web-accessibility rules; officials said training, procurement changes and sustained vendor work are next steps to avoid fines.","actionData","errors"]

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Larimer County co-responder unit expanding but faces clinician vacancies and a funding shortfall

Larimer County says website largely compliant with new accessibility rules but warns of remaining gaps and fines