Crisis Intervention Response Team By The City of Boulder, CO: An OPEN MINDS Program Profile

The City of Boulder, Colorado has launched a groundbreaking new program to help better meet the needs of community members who are experiencing a behavioral health crisis, called the Crisis Intervention Response Team (CIRT). The Crisis Intervention Response Team, launched in February 2021, helps more appropriately address emergent situations involving behavioral health crises like mental health issues, substance use disorders, and intense emotional episodes. The city published CIRT’s first six-month outcomes report which showed a decrease in use of force by officers, decreases in arrests from encounters, and a reduction in involuntary commitments for mental health crises. The . . .