Baltimore County crisis-response staff briefed the mental health council on the county’s co-responder model, which pairs licensed clinicians with specially trained officers to divert people experiencing behavioral health crises from emergency rooms and the criminal justice system.

A county presenter said the program is part of the local implementation of the national 988 crisis line and reported that the co-responder team diverts a large share of calls: "We are typically operating higher than a 64 percent, diverging rate," the presenter said. The county emphasized preventive outreach, referrals to community providers and follow-up services to reduce repeat contacts.

Sergeant Sean Havens described the police role during emergency petitions and transports: even when a health professional completes paperwork, an officer must respond because the transport and civil detention function requires trained officers for safety. An officer added that clinicians remain out of the immediate danger zone while officers secure the scene and update information so clinicians can safely assess and refer the person.

Panelists also noted limits in the continuum of care. County staff called the absence of a larger stabilization center an outstanding gap that reduces diversion opportunities; if only short-term emergency beds or community stabilization programs were more widely available, more people could avoid hospital admission or detention. Committee members and law enforcement praised the co-responder team for reduced burden on patrol officers and for positive outcomes in workplace-related cases.

County staff and police agreed on priorities for improvement: better cross-agency information sharing, expanded stabilization capacity and continued public outreach as the county implements 988. County staff invited questions and said they would share supporting materials with the council.