John France, acute care services supervisor, presented a quarterly update on the county’s co‑responder unit (CRU) and told the Health & Human Services Committee that the sheriff’s department ‘‘completely almost completely utilizes the co responder team’’ while several municipal police departments use the team infrequently.

Why it matters: County staff said CRU is designed to de‑escalate behavioral‑health and substance‑use incidents, provide safety planning and link people to follow‑up services to prevent future crises. Staff said CRU handles referrals that often do not meet the threshold for a Chapter 51 (involuntary) detention but that benefit from clinical intervention and connection to community services.

Findings and questions: The report included vignettes illustrating CRU interventions and a jurisdictional utilization table that showed high use by the sheriff’s department and lower use by other departments. Supervisors asked whether West Bend’s low utilization was an administrative choice or a rank‑and‑file practice problem; staff said chiefs have made CRU available but that practice and awareness vary and that they will present data and training at the next chiefs’ meeting. Committee members suggested sharing officer‑focused success stories, training materials and body‑cam examples to change practice.

Capacity and timeline: Staff said the CRU effort began hires in 2023, expanded in 2024 and 2025, and that the program has been active for roughly two to three years. They said the current team could be used more without adding staff if municipal partners increased referrals.

Next steps: Staff will bring utilization data and success vignettes to the chiefs’ meeting and continue outreach to municipal departments to increase referrals to CRU.