City staff presented the City of Boulder Behavioral Health Framework and an update on the Community Assistance Response and Engagement (CARE) program Jan. 14, outlining priorities for city involvement and early program metrics for a health‑focused alternate response.

The framework, led by Wendy Schwartz of Housing and Human Services, sets principles for the city’s role in behavioral health: prioritize collaboration over duplication, leverage upstream investments in social determinants of health, match roles to expertise and build evaluation and transparency into programs. Staff framed the framework to align with the Boulder County Behavioral Health Roadmap, which the county approved in 2023 and which was developed with input from more than 600 stakeholders.

Nut graf: Staff said the city cannot replace state and federally funded clinical systems but can strategically fund safety‑net providers, support service navigation, and expand crisis‑response alternatives; councilmembers asked for additional disaggregated outcome data, clarity on funding sustainability and more detail on regional implementation plans.

What staff presented

- The framework highlights four priority areas where the city can focus limited resources: preserving and integrating safety‑net services; improving service navigation and connection; supporting people with co‑occurring disorders and high‑acuity needs; and advancing suicide prevention and substance‑use treatment.

- Wendy Schwartz said the framework intentionally builds on the county roadmap and stresses “advocate, don’t duplicate.” The city will continue to fund local providers, support collaborative planning, and use upstream investments such as affordable housing to address social determinants of behavioral health.

CARE program update and metrics

- CARE, a non‑police crisis response staffed by city clinicians, paramedics and case managers, launched four days per week in December 2023 and scaled to seven days per week in mid‑March 2024. The program operates 9 a.m.–7 p.m. daily.

- In 2024 CARE recorded 299 responses, follow‑ups and case‑management contacts; staff said that represented roughly 2% of the fire department’s responses and slightly less than 1% of police department responses.

- CARE required police backup 22 times and ambulance support 37 times in 2024; three CARE calls involved both police and ambulance. There were three arrests on CARE calls and no uses of force reported.

- CARE made about 202 referrals to immediate or ongoing community treatment and staff reported more than half of CARE clients remained in the community after contact (that is, were not immediately transported to a facility).

Council questions and regional coordination

Councilmembers asked for more disaggregated demographic data (race/ethnicity, gender and other indicators) about who is accessing services and requested outcome and evaluation information. Staff said they will prioritize deeper analysis of available data and that an external evaluation of CARE will begin in Q2 2025 after a full year of operation.

Council asked how regional funds — for example opioid settlement allocations — might support larger capital or programmatic projects such as residential treatment capacity. Michelle Webb (Boulder County behavioral health system manager) and representatives from Clinica Family Health and Wellness (Simon Smith, Kate Parker) said regional planning is underway and some projects (Clinica‑led residential services) are advancing; workforce shortages and sustainability are ongoing constraints.

Ending

Staff said the city will continue partnership work with Boulder County and regional providers, pursue an external evaluation of CARE, and follow up with more detailed fiscal and disaggregated outcome data. No formal council action was taken at the Jan. 14 study session.