.png){kind=spacer}
About ICRA
The International Co-Responder Alliance (ICRA) is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that works to unite professionals in the fields of co-response and crisis response. ICRA exists to help peers network with each other and learn together.
What is Co-Response?“Co-Response” means different things in different jurisdictions. At its core, though, is a belief that partnering first responders with behavioral health professionals is an effective way to respond to behavioral health crises and other situations involving unmet behavioral health needs. |
Goals of Co-Response
While the forms of co-response have changed, the goals of the approach are consistent. First responders are often the only field-based responders for people struggling with mental illness, mental health issues, substance use, and other behavioral health issues. Co-response aims to de-escalate these situations, improve the quality of interactions, facilitate access to care, and promote safety.
An emerging body of evidence suggests that these programs reduce arrests, incarceration, and emergency room visits while effectively connecting people to needed care. Further, co-response teams often serve to make the sum of the system greater than its parts by promoting care coordination among agencies, health care, and the criminal justice system.
ICRA is proud to be a resource for jurisdictions exploring co-response, and agencies looking to improve their programs.
Evolution of Co-Response
The first co-response teams, established in the 1970’s and 1980’s, paired police officers with mental health professionals to respond to crisis calls. Over the past 30 years, co-response has evolved to include fire and emergency medical service-based programs, hybrid teams of police/fire/EMS, and include clinicians, substance use professionals, case managers, and peers. These teams still respond to crisis calls but have expanded to perform other functions like follow-up services, case management, outreach to homeless populations, transportation, and resource navigation.
While co-responder programs have a 50-year history, many were launched in the last 10-20 years. Nationally and internationally, there is high demand for opportunities to exchange ideas, share best practices, and prepare for new demands.