Routt County officials on Monday described plans to launch a countywide mental health co‑responder program that pairs a clinician contracted through UCHealth with a designated law‑enforcement officer to respond to behavioral‑health calls and attempt on‑scene stabilization and service linkage.

The program, described as the Routt County Mental Health Response Team or MERT, is intended to “stabilize in place, connect the individual to further services, and then divert from those unnecessary hospitalizations or even jail,” Routt County staff member Molina said during the June 16 work session.

County managers and public‑safety leaders told commissioners that the clinician will be employed by UCHealth under a county contract; the clinician will use UCHealth’s HIPAA‑compliant charting system for medical and behavioral‑health records. The county plans to field an unmarked, specially equipped “co‑responder” vehicle purchased with JAG funds and is seeking part‑time case management support to provide follow‑up and preventive outreach.

Molina said the designated law‑enforcement officer already selected for the program is Dawn, who will work with the clinician after additional trainings and shadowing of existing programs. “Our behavioral health partner is UCHealth,” Molina said, noting UCHealth’s charting system and clinician network as key reasons for the contract.

Program structure, dispatch and data tracking

Calls for service will be routed through dispatch; the county is developing a simple field app for unit reporting so responses, outcomes and follow‑ups can be tracked. Molina said historical call‑coding analysis shows most behavioral‑health calls occur Tuesday through Friday, roughly 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and the program’s initial clinician has expressed willingness to work those hours.

Molina described a phased approach: finalize policies and metrics, onboard the clinician, train the unit, and implement a community awareness campaign. The county has budgeted continuation dollars from a Behavioral Health Administration (BHA) grant that begins July 1 and retained evaluators in the grant to measure program performance and outcomes.

Training, confidentiality and expansion

County staff emphasized that both clinicians and officers will receive additional training beyond basic crisis‑intervention training so they can work safely and effectively together. Molina said privacy protections for medical and substance‑use information will be maintained through UCHealth’s Epic system and that case managers would have limited access to the clinical record for continuity of care.

“Follow‑up is really critical because that acts actually as a preventative measure,” Molina said, adding that other jurisdictions have seen reduced repeat calls when case management and follow‑up are in place.

The county anticipates starting with a single clinician/LEO unit and expanding to two units if demand warrants, with participating entities—such as the Steamboat Springs Police Department—able to contract for staffing or clinician time rather than duplicating separate systems. Molina said the county prefers shared onboarding, shared metrics and data alignment if multiple agencies operate similar units.

Why it matters

County officials described the program as a diversion‑oriented, time‑limited response designed to reduce unnecessary emergency‑department visits and arrests, return first responders quickly to service, and connect community members to ongoing care. Molina cited Colorado Health Institute findings that co‑response programs can both increase positive interactions between law enforcement and clinicians and reduce costly ED visits.

Next steps

Staff will complete contracting and onboarding with UCHealth, finalize the app and data metrics, and pursue the part‑time case‑manager role as budget and staffing permit. Commissioners did not vote on any ordinance or budget change during the update; the presentation was an informational briefing on implementation plans.