This case study is part of the Reimagining Public Safety Impact Updates Resource, which highlights successful programs in cities, towns and villages across the country. View the Reimagining Public Safety Initiative to learn more about NLC’s work in creating safe, equitable communities for all. This is one of several municipalities illustrating the Community Response Model, which relies on trained, unarmed civilians to respond to crises and provide behavioral health services. Note: The case study was originally published in 2024 and updated in 2025.
Seattle, WA: Community Assisted Response & Engagement (CARE) Department
Seattle’s Community Assisted Response & Engagement (CARE) Department’s mission is to improve public safety by resolving low-risk calls for behavioral health matters through diversified responses that are evidence-based, effective, innovative and compassionate. Two department divisions within CARE include the Seattle 9-1-1 Communications Center and the Community Crisis Responders (CCR), who are also known as the CARE Team.
“I commend Mayor Harrell and the Seattle City Council for sharing a vision to establish three co-equal departments of first responders, led by three significant voices in one collaborative conversation…Since the launch of our responder pilot, it has been clear that the effectiveness of our public safety response relies on the strength of relationships and mutual trust. Our integration and partnerships with community and nonprofit organizations is both significant and vital because the objective is not just to provide the best first response to a 9-1-1 call, but then to swiftly help someone onto whatever rehabilitative or supportive path they need.”
– CARE Chief Amy Barden
According to CARE Chief Barden, the Seattle 9-1-1 Communications Center receives more than 800,000 emergency and non-emergency calls per year. According to CARE Chief Barden, most of the calls require specialized intervention to achieve optimal outcomes. In order to best serve residents, CARE was founded in October 2023 to streamline emergency and non-emergency resources for 9-1-1 calls, including increasing police response times to high-priority 9-1-1 emergency calls by reducing police involvement in 9-1-1 call events that do not necessitate a police response.
As part of the pilot, CARE Community Crisis Responders were initially assisting Seattle police with low-risk calls in the West Precinct with three teams (two CCRs per team) working from 11 AM to 11 PM. CCRs initially focused on particular 9-1-1 call types—specifically, non-violent Person Down and Welfare Checks and calls for support, which are made at an individual police officer’s request. In the first year of operations, CCRs responded to 1,000 calls for service — 88 percent which were calls involving police officers who were dispatched and approximately 40 percent of which were calls involving CARE CCR responding to aid in the form of transport. Over 1,000 calls for service, the average response time for CCRs was approximately 8 minutes.
“The Seattle Police Department is grateful for the expansion of CARE. They are a great resource to our Department and the community we serve. Our West Precinct officers have formed strong partnerships with CARE and often call for their assistance, even when not initially co-dispatched. We share mutual respect and look forward to expanded opportunities to collaborate. Particularly with our current staffing crisis, officers appreciate the CARE Team and the assistance they provide.”
– Sue Rahr, Seattle Interim Chief of Police.
By expanding Seattle’s capacity to respond to low-risk calls that do not necessitate police and provide specialized services for residents experiencing behavioral health challenges, the Seattle CARE Department is reciprocally expanding the capacity of police officers to respond to high-priority calls that involve violence, property damage and other acute emergency matters. Moreover, in May 2024, the Seattle Care Department and the Seattle Police Department (SPD) partnered to update dispatch policies. As a result, SPD optimized resource allocation to improve response times for high-priority calls.
CCRs provide safety planning and resource navigation for community members, including transportation to services and the provision of supplies needed to address underlying basic needs.
The CARE budget increased from $20.5 million in 2023 to $26.5 million in 2024. Within the CARE budget, the city of Seattle’s budget for CCRs in 2024 was $2.4 million which included $2 million in expansion funds from Seattle’s participatory budgeting process. In June of 2024, the CARE department received a $1.9 million federal grant for a phased expansion of CCR services citywide with updated hours of 12 PM to 10 PM with 15 CCRs and three CCR supervisors.
“As public safety departments around the country have struggled to deal with mental health and social needs, Seattle’s Community Assisted Response & Engagement Department has been a major success in getting people the care they need, when they need it. I’ve been proud to support federal funding to this department, and will continue to do so to ensure that people get the specialized care they need and the burden is lifted on law enforcement. It’s so great to see Seattle leading the way on this holistic approach and serve as a model for cities and states across the country.”
– Representative Pramila Jayapal.
Legislation is also making it easier for local jurisdictions to implement optimal responses in cities across the State. Washington state passed HB 2088 in early 2024, which “[extends] liability protections for responders dispatched from mobile rapid response crisis teams and community-based crisis teams.” Passage of HB 2088 will equip CARE CCRs and other mobile crisis responders in the State of Washington with necessary protections when providing critical services to community members needing help.
In addition to these efforts, King County passed a property tax levy estimated to raise $1.25 billion over nine years. This funding will support mental and behavioral health services, including plans to build five crisis care centers across the County.
Key performance metrics collected include:
- Response times
- Number of calls responded to
- Time spent on site
- Number of social service connections made via referral by CARE Team
- Number of transports
- Change in capacity for Police and Fire to respond to higher priority calls
- Frequency of back-up needed (other units at SFD or SPD)
Acknowledgements for contributions and review from Amy Barden, Chief for the CARE Department, City of Seattle.
View the Reimagining Public Safety Impact Update
Learn more about what different cities have done to support public safety, including qualitative and quantitative measures highlighting the impact of community responder models, group violence interventions, hospital-based violence interventions and community violence interventions.