Fire management and other public safety programs have been core local government services for residents since the early 20th century. As a long-time municipal service, fire departments are uniquely positioned to witness resident needs through emergency response calls. Additionally, fire department personnel are often deployed to address emergency situations beyond those related to fire safety, such as emergency medical services and disaster response, as well as behavioral health crises.
Many firefighters, along with other public safety personnel, experience high levels of stress due to exposure to traumatic events on the jobs, and continued exposure to high-stress situations may harm mental health and overall wellbeing. While fire departments respond to behavioral health crises and other complex community needs, local governments are exploring co-responder programs, which pair first responders with behavioral health or human services professionals. These programs may improve response outcomes for residents, reduce strain on emergency response systems and support the well-being of firefighters and other public safety personnel.
New research from the Center for Public Safety Excellence (CPSE) has found positive momentum in implementing co-responder programs in their 2026 strategic scan and surveys of fire chiefs. These models have been found to be significant drivers when addressing community needs, especially when responding to behavioral health crises, repeat callers or supporting residents with gaps in social or health services.
Here are four considerations for starting a co-responder model in your community:
1. Co-Responder Programs Help Address Behavioral Health Needs
These programs are often developed to address both community behavioral health and fire department needs, such as providing additional support during health crises to addressing emergency department overuse.
In CPSE’s research, 49 percent of responding fire chiefs have or are developing a co-responder program. For those with a co-responder program, over 91 percent of fire chiefs noted that they’ve implemented a program to support local response during a behavioral health crisis, address repeat callers or aid residents with gaps in social or health services. Additional drivers for implementing a co-responder program included the need to address emergency department overuse (77 percent) and related safety concerns for first responders (63 percent).
2. How Co-Responders Operate
There are several methods that surveyed communities have taken to implement their co-responder program, including determining which departments to coordinate with, hours of service and the areas in which the program will operate.
When implementing a co-responder program, roughly 44 percent of responding fire chiefs noted that their program is led by the fire department, whether as the main operator or lead collaborator of the program. The most common program structural combination was a joint fire-police and third-party or nonprofit provider program, with 35 percent of respondents using this structure.
The co-responder program service hours ranged greatly. Most respondents (45 percent) provide the program during daytime or peak-hours, compared to programs with 24/7 coverage (20 percent) and those with limited coverage using on-call responses (33 percent).
The service areas included varied, with most fire chiefs noting that their program covers a single jurisdiction (45 percent). The second most common service areas cover multiple jurisdictions within the same county (38 percent), and only 3 percent of programs cover multiple counties.
3. How Co-Responder Programs are Funded
Local governments have taken different approaches to funding co-responder programs, from designating local budgetary funds to receiving federal and private grants.
The majority of programs (65 percent) were supported by local government funding. Additional funds were secured through grants from state or federal agencies, or from local health organizations, like health systems or hospitals. Only two programs (3 percent) reported billing for their services.
For respondents that did not have a co-responder program, nearly all (89 percent) indicated that funding would be a major challenge in considering creating a local program.
4. How Programs Use Data to Drive Future Decision Making
As program implementation continues, many fire chiefs are collecting data on their program’s intake to inform their local elected officials of successes and opportunity areas.
After 12 months with their programs, nearly 30 percent of fire chiefs are expanding their co-responder program, while less than three percent will discontinue their co-responder program.
Although respondents noted varying levels of collecting programmatic data, more than 65 percent of fire chiefs indicated using data-informed decision-making to guide program budgets and communicate the program’s value to local elected officials. Roughly 59 percent of respondents reported using data to inform operations or staffing changes, and 41 percent used data to support grants.
Taking Local Action to Support First Responders
When considering whether to start or expand a co-responder program, understanding current local services and how peer cities implemented similar programs can help in decision-making. To see if your community has a co-responder program, review the Law Enforcement Action Partnership’s Community Responder Dashboard. For more information on how local governments implemented a co-responder program, see NLC and Policy Research, Inc.’s brief on the roles of cities, counties, law enforcement and providers (PDF).
Supporting First Responder Wellbeing in Huntington, W.Va.
After participating in NLC’s Mayors Institute on Opioids, the City of Huntington, W. Va. developed the Compass program to address compassion fatigue, trauma and burnout experienced by first responders during the opioid epidemic. Compass provides several physical and mental health opportunities for first responders to improve well-being, including wellness coaches, peer support, resilience training and more. While the program originated in response to the opioid crisis, Huntington expanded the model to help first responders navigate all forms of occupational stress and trauma, from overdose response to natural disasters.
Join a Committee
You can help NLC advocate for stronger investments in first responder and community behavioral health services by joining NLC’s federal advocacy committees. In these committees, you can learn more about legislation under Congress’s consideration that would help communities establish and expand co-responder programs, like the Mental Health Emergency Responder Act (H.R. 5706).
About the Author
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