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Douglas County Care Compact wins national award for coordinated mental health services
Summary
Douglas County’s Care Compact received a National Association of Counties Achievement Award for its model of coordinated care for adults with complex mental health, substance use and developmental needs.
Douglas County officials and Care Compact staff marked the county’s receipt of a 2025 National Association of Counties (NACo) Achievement Award for the Care Compact, a networked care-coordination program designed to serve adults with serious mental illness, substance use disorders and intellectual or developmental disabilities.
Leandra Montoya, Care Compact supervisor, and Pam Rohrer, the county’s adult care compact navigator, described the program’s approach and outcomes to the Board of County Commissioners during the ceremonies portion of the meeting. Rohrer said the Care Compact brings together a team of community partners to provide interim case management, help obtain public benefits and connect clients with long-term services. Montoya told the board the program has served more than 200 individuals and cited a program evaluation that showed an 87% reduction in CRT crisis calls six months after program completion.
Montoya framed the Care Compact as one element of the Douglas County Mental Health Collaborative and said the program grew out of work begun in 2020 to address gaps and silos in the mental health system. She described partnerships with co-responder teams, the HEART homeless engagement team and law enforcement to reduce unnecessary emergency responses and improve stability for vulnerable residents.
Commissioners thanked staff and partners and discussed outreach to make the Care Compact and co-responder services more widely known to residents. Montoya and Rohrer explained referral pathways: partners such as CRT and HEART can refer individuals; families can refer through the county website; and staff perform intake and convene individualized care teams that may include developmental disability services, peer support, case management and eligibility assistance.
The board applauded the staff and partners; no formal vote was required for the award recognition. Commissioners said they will continue to pursue wider community awareness and access for the program.
