Arapahoe County, Colorado, has hired Catherine Kaufman as its first behavioral health dispatch specialist, answering mental health related 911 calls and providing crisis counseling. This innovative program aims to expand mental health services and divert low-risk calls from traditional law enforcement response.
Catherine Kaufman isn’t your typical 911 operator.Instead of answering emergency calls, she answers mental health related calls — serving as Arapahoe County’s first behavioral health dispatch specialist.She's joining the county's growing Behavioral Health Response Team, created to expand its mental health related services to citizens. “Maybe they're just calling because they need to talk. Sometimes I just do plain old crisis counseling,” Kaufman explained.
Kaufman’s position is a first-of-its-kind in the state of Colorado.“We have not been able to find any programs here in the state of Colorado to model after, so we just did a lot of research of looking at what other agencies throughout the country are doing, and took little bits and pieces of those models and made it out into our own,” said Jacobs.It’s not just crisis counseling, though.Say you call 911 during an emergency.
Mental Health Crisis Intervention 911 Dispatch Co-Responders Behavioral Health
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Tarrant County Surpasses Dallas in Number of Inmates on Death RowA review of state prison data and court records reveals that Tarrant County, Texas, has overtaken Dallas County in the number of individuals awaiting execution. This year alone, six death sentences were handed down in Texas, four of which originated from North Texas counties, with three coming from Tarrant County. The review identified at least 14 individuals from Tarrant County currently on death row, surpassing Dallas County's 13. Harris County remains the state's leading county for death row inmates, with over 60 individuals awaiting execution.
Read more »
Hope House Colorado receives $19,000 donation thanks to Jefferson County teen's effortsAdria Iraheta joined the Denver7 news team in January 2024. After spending the past decade making her way across the country, the Los Angeles native is thrilled to be back out west!
Read more »
Colorado’s “Captain America” rescued by Douglas County deputy after motorcycle breaks down on C-470A Colorado superhero was rescued by a Douglas County sheriff’s deputy on Wednesday after his motorcycle broke down along C-470 while he was on his way to Children’s Hospital in Highlands Ranch.
Read more »
San Diego County extends county voucher contract ahead of potential change to homelessness programEquus Workforce Solutions is being audited over how it aided flood victims
Read more »
Embattled ex-Dauphin County commissioner had secret business with county’s lobbyistFormer Dauphin County Commissioner Jeff Haste and Greenlee Partners' co-founder Stanley Rapp had a real estate company while Rapp represented multiple businesses getting paid by the county.
Read more »
Cottonwood edges Houston County; Junior Smith powers Dale County and other boys recapsKarnelius Miree had 16 points and Jay Garrett nine to lead Cottonwood, which edged Houston County 49-47 in boys high school basketball action at Cottonwood High School.
Read more »