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Cochise County care team describes crisis response, Legacy Foundation grant and a case where community and county resources 'lifted' a family's burden
Summary
The Cochise County Sheriff's Office's Community Assistance, Response and Engagement (CARE) team described on-air how the unit responds to behavioral-health-related 911 calls, its Legacy Foundation grant funding and a recent high-acuity family case that the team and local partners helped stabilize.
Dr. Alana Buencini, leader of the Cochise County CARE team, described the unit as an alternate 911 response that handles behavioral-health calls and follow-up support to keep people from repeatedly calling 911. "We are an alternate response unit within the Cochise County Sheriff's Office," Buencini said on KWCD's First Watch.
The nut graf: Buencini said the CARE team responds to incidents that are not a crime, fire or medical emergency, but where de-escalation, follow-up or non-law-enforcement interventions are appropriate; the unit is part of emergency services and works with dispatch to deploy behavioral-health resources when needed.
Buencini said the CARE team connects people to mental-health services, helps arrange long-term substance-use treatment and works on housing, legal and family issues that contribute to repeated crises. She said the team also helps older residents access memory care and long-term supports. "We untangle the mess that is getting 911 to be a part of their lives and get that sorted out for them," Buencini said.
The team's work is funded in part by a Legacy Foundation grant awarded in 2022 that targeted behavioral-health services across the county. Buencini credited the grant with allowing flexible use of funds and enabling the team to pull together county resources and community volunteers to address a large set of physical and care needs for a single family.
She described a recent high-acuity case in which multiple agencies and elevated concerns — including possible arrests and hospitalizations — were present on a rural property. After de-escalation the CARE team coordinated county services and community volunteers to complete needed physical work and follow-up. "That physical weight was lifted from them, so now they can keep on doing the hard work that they have to do," Buencini said. The family, she said, is "doing great" though they still have work to complete.
Buencini emphasized that CARE team members are not law enforcement officers when they respond; they are medical and behavioral-health professionals dispatched through 911 for appropriate calls. She said the team can arrive within minutes when dispatched and provide short- and long-term supports aimed at reducing 911 reliance and keeping people from ending up in jail or the emergency department.
Ending: Buencini said the CARE team will continue working across partners to improve continuity of care in rural Cochise County and urged callers and officials to consider non-punitive approaches when mental health is a driving cause of recurring 911 calls.
