Windsor police searching for suspect in drive-by shooting

Larimer County seeks more mental health-focused first responders

Nick Coltrain
The Coloradoan
Loveland Police Department Sgt. Bob Shaffer calls in to respond to a domestic disturbance where three people were reported to be fighting, on Friday, July 21, 2017, in downtown Loveland. Three other officers also responded to the scene.

A state grant could double the number of mental health specialists working with law enforcement in Larimer County.

County commissioners approved the application for $362,000 from the Colorado Department of Human Services on Tuesday. Officials hope to know the result mid-November.

If approved, it could lead to six mental health specialists working with first responders throughout Larimer County to de-escalate mental health crises and, officials hope, keep people going through those crises out of the criminal justice system altogether, instead funneling them to behavioral health services. That could help free up law enforcement and firefighters to focus on other needs.

"It's not just a response issue," Larimer County Director of Criminal Justice Services Gary Darling said. "Once that person responds, they'll act as a caseworker ... we want to keep (the person in crisis) out of the criminal justice system all together."

Fort Collins Police Services has already approved such a role, and the Loveland Police Department has a co-responder already in the field, Darling said. Larimer County will consider funding such a position for the Larimer County Sheriff's Office in its 2018 budget. The budget won't be approved until the end of 2017, but commissioners have been favorable to the concept.

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The grant would cover three positions, one for each law enforcement agency. If the state awards it, and Larimer County approves the additional person for the sheriff's office, it would lead for six total.

Laurie Stolen, Larimer County's behavioral health project director, said the idea is for each law enforcement agency to have two co-responders working out of their departments to build rapport with law enforcement, but ultimately the goal is for them to act as a pooled resource to go where they're needed.

If the co-responder programs are successful — and officials cited promising results in places like Douglas County — then it could provide a foundation for making the case to taxpayers for expanded behavioral health services in Larimer County, Commissioner Steve Johnson said.

A ballot measure to create a behavioral health center, funded with a sales tax increase, failed in November 2016. Officials have pledged to to revisit the effort during the 2018 election, though the details are still being worked out. The grant application represents the county taking what actions it can, short of the ballot measure, Commissioner Lew Gaiter said.

This story has been updated to clarify the number of positions the grant would fund and corrects Laurie Stolen's position with Larimer County.

More:Loveland, Fort Collins police team up with behavioral health specialists