Miami Police Co-Responders for High-Utilizer Interventions

The Miami Police Co-Responders for High Utilizer Interventions Program, further referred to as the “High Utilizer Interventions Program”, will promote effective strategies by law enforcement to identify and reduce the risk of harm to individuals with mental illness or co-occurring mental illness and substance abuse MI or CMISA and public safety. In addition, Westcare/The Village South, Inc., will be participating in varies situational-based training with MPD. Furthermore, both MPD and Westcare/The Village South, Inc., will travel to attend varies specialized training conferences, site visits, and modules.

The City of Miami Police Department is the lead applicant and Westcare/The Village South, Inc., will serve as the partner applicant. With this highly specialized co-responder team, the target population and number of individuals to be assisted is the top 100 high-utilizers individuals that most use public safety and mental health agency services in Downtown Miami and Miami’s Overtown neighborhood. The awarded amount is requested for the co-responder team to refer high utilizers to mental illness and substance abuse resources through direct outreach on the street, responses to 911 calls for service and follow-up contact from service providers.

The High Utilizer Interventions program will reduce the rate at which the high utilizer population is forced to rely on emergency services and law enforcement for mental health and substance abuse related issues. The Co-responder model will develop a crisis continuum of care that will result in the reduction of harm, arrests and use of jails and emergency departments that will promote the development of and access to quality mental and substance use disorder treatment and services.

City of Miami previously received JMHCP grant funds through pre-arrest diversion programs, grant award numbers, 2018-AR-BX-K109 and 2018-MO-BX-0014. There are no subcontractors for this program.