Johnson County staff seek standardized MOU with Overland Park for co-responder crisis teams

Tanner Fortney, a representative of the Johnson County Department of Mental Health, asked the Board of County Commissioners to consider approving a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the city of Overland Park to provide co-responder crisis-intervention assistance services. The item was presented for agenda review and no final vote was recorded.

Fortney said the county’s co-responder program began around 2010–2011 and has expanded organically with many individual city agreements. He told commissioners the county’s legal staff has worked since 2022 to create standardized MOU language to reduce variation between jurisdictions. “Probably one of the biggest changes though... is the funding piece of it,” Fortney said, adding that cities will continue to fund the co-responder positions but have requested an annualized budget be provided by March 31 each year so they can plan for salary and benefit changes.

Fortney clarified that the county does still cover a small set of items tied to co-responders: a uniform allowance and one of two required laptops (the cost is split because co-responders must access both local law-enforcement systems and county electronic health records). Commissioner Ashcraft pressed for clarification on whether the model is full cost recovery; Fortney said the cities “almost entirely” fund the positions but that some costs remain split.

The presentation noted that different local law-enforcement agencies manage co-responder staffing differently (some provide vehicles; smaller agencies may not), which is one reason the county now seeks standardized contract language. Fortney said the changes presented are primarily “cleaning up and making this more uniform.” No final action was recorded during the agenda review; the item remained under consideration.

The matter will return for formal consideration at a later meeting where commissioners may act on the proposed MOU and any site-specific changes.