The Erie County Law Enforcement & Mental Health Response Program

The Erie County Law Enforcement & Mental Health Response Program

Service Area- Erie County with a population of over 950,000 dispersed across 1,043 square miles in Western New York State.

Program-specific priority area- Co-Response Team (CRT) service model

Seeking Priority Consideration- by advancing racial equity (see page 4)

Lead Applicant- Erie County, NY, Department of Mental Health, on behalf of:

Partner Applicants-

Endeavor Health Services (a licensed mental health agency) [CRT subcontractor]
City of Buffalo Police Department
Town of Cheektowaga Police Department
Town of West Seneca Police Department
Tonawanda Police Department
Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority Transit Police
Research Partner- SUNY at Buffalo [Evaluation subcontractor]

Funding Requested: $550,000 BJA; $231,250 Match; $781,250 Total Project (over 3 years).

Project Summary [with Deliverables]-

Goal 1- To plan and implement comprehensive collaboration co-response program

Planning Phase- (year 1)- Obj 1.1 Best Practice- to enhance EBP Co-Responder Team services [CRT Policies & Procedures submitted, refined, adopted, & mental health team trained]; Obj 1.2 Training- to enhance officer knowledge and skills [training curriculum submitted, refined, adopted, & 60 officers trained during planning phase; another 195 trained in years 2 & 3- 255 trained over 3 years]

Implementation Phase- (years 2 & 3)- Obj. 1.3 Expansion- of Co-Responder Team capacity in high need areas [year 2 expands up to 480 CRT encounters; year 3 up to 720 encounters; 66% in high priority areas]; Obj. 1.4 Evaluation- to inform cross-system practices & policies [Performance Assessments with BJA guidance]; Obj. 1.5 Sustainment- to continue program operations [sustained commitments in place by end of year 3]

Goal 2- To advance racial equity and support for underserved communities

Obj. 2.1 To engage citizens through officer outreach [CRT featured in outreach materials; multiple outreach events in underserved venues]; Obj 2.2 To build positive community relations [cross-system public communication strategy; cross-linking social media; strategic multimedia press conferences]

Not a previous recipient of BJA Connect & Protect