Skip to content

Strengthening connections among criminal justice agencies, behavioral health organizations, and the community to improve wellbeing for people with mental health conditions or co-occurring substance use disorders.

Tips for Successfully Implementing a 911 Dispatch Diversion Program

A diversion model showing great promise across the U.S. is 911 dispatch diversion, sometimes called crisis call diversion. The approach aims to reduce unnecessary police contact by connecting people to mental health professionals when someone contacts 911 due to a behavioral health crisis or other health or social service need. This brief outlines four tips for successfully implementing 911 dispatch diversion in a community.

View Document Read more


Related Resources

Brief

Preparing Law Enforcement Agencies for Embedded Clinicians

Crisis Systems, Law Enforcement, Mental Health

Read more
Brief

Building Successful Partnerships with Peer-Run Organizations

Co-Occurring Substance Use, Mental Health

Read more

Authors

Profile image of Deirdra Assey

Deirdra Assey

Former Senior Policy Analyst, Behavioral Health

dassey@csg.org

Deirdra Assey provided technical assistance to programs planning and implementing criminal justice and mental health collaborations; she also worked on projects under the CSG Justice Center’s courts portfolio. Prior to joining the organization, Deirdra worked for Hudson County’s Screening Center at Jersey City Medical Center, where she was a civil commitment evaluator. She also worked with the Hudson County Crisis Intervention Team and has trained with various local law enforcement agencies. Deirdra received her BA and MA in forensic psychology from John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Request Free Support

JMHCP offers free, tailored support to communities. Learn more about the opportunities available.

Learn more