- Baltimore Is Building A $16.8 Million 24/7 Alternative 911 Response System. For the Baltimore Sun, Chevall Pryce reports that the city is creating a new agency to send “clinicians, social workers, and other responders to thousands of 911 calls now handled by police,” including roughly 22,000 emergency calls a year involving “trespassing, welfare checks, public nuisance and public intoxication.” Under the proposed system, “911 dispatchers would determine whether a call should be handled by a clinician, a co-response team involving a police officer and mental health clinician, a 988 mobile crisis team or a team of trained non-law enforcement responders such as social workers and peer recovery specialists.” The city plans to spend $12.4 million on a new Computer-Aided Dispatch system that “would redirect non-violent 911 calls to the new agency,” with another $4.42 million for training and implementation. The goal, officials said, is to “bring together public health and public safety” while giving police and EMS “another option for calls that do not require their involvement.”
- Memphis Adds Mental Health As A “Fourth Option” For 911 Emergency Callers. For WREG, Brayel Brown reports that Memphis has added “mental health” alongside police, fire and EMS as an option for people calling 911, where dispatchers receive about 25,000 mental health calls each year. Police Chief C.J. Davis said the approach “makes sure the right people are sent with the right support… [and] also cuts down on response times when you make sure everyone is there at the same time.” And if callers select the wrong option, “dispatchers will be able to redirect the call and get them the help they need.” Mayor Paul Young explained that “the 4th option… gives callers a way to identify a mental health need at the beginning of a 911 call,” and that depending on the call, “a paramedic and/or a clinically licensed social worker could respond, or an ambulance could be dispatched to the scene.”
- Austin’s Mental Health Clinicians Embedded Into 911 Call Center Handled 90% Of Eligible Crisis Calls This Year, Reducing Strain On Law Enforcement. For the Austin Free Press, Shelby Ligon reports that Austin’s 24/7 Center Crisis Clinicians program deflected 90% of eligible 911 mental-health calls from January through April 2026, reducing reliance on law enforcement who would have otherwise been the responder to these calls. The program “places clinicians in the 911 center, gives them access to computer-aided dispatch and operates around the clock in partnership with APD and the Travis County Sheriff’s Office.” Since December 2019, the clinician-led team has received 34,157 calls through 911, with 86% of eligible calls meeting the criteria for deflection to mental health response, instead of another first responder like police or paramedics.