Washington co-response Conference: Save the date for may 7, 2026

Peer Support for Behavioral Health Co-Responders is Now Available.

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Member Meetings

Schedule for 2025

We meet quarterly on the 3rd Tuesday of the month from 3:00PM to 4:30PM.

October 21, 2025: leveraging senate bill 2015 as part of a funding sustainability strategy

We’ll be discussing Senate Bill 2015, with insights from Derrick Nunnally of the Association of Washington Cities and Brad Banks, CROA’s lobbyist.

SB 2015—Improving public safety funding by providing resources to local governments and state and local criminal justice agencies, and authorizing a local option tax—specifically calls out co-response. This discussion will provide information on how communities can leverage this legislation as part of a funding sustainability strategy.

Additionally, CROA will introduce our draft legislative priorities for the 2026 session. During the meeting, we will ask all members, through a survey, to select their top three priorities from the proposed list. Your feedback will directly influence our agenda and ensure it represents the needs and voices of our members.

July 15, 2025: Leveraging MSW Practicum Students in Mobile Integrated Health (MIH) and Co-Response Units for Case Management and Referral

CROA’s 3rd Quarterly Meeting Presentation: Leveraging MSW Practicum Students in Mobile Integrated Health (MIH) and Co-Response Units for Case Management and Referral.  Our expert panel includes:

  • Dylan Gordon, LICSW, Field Education Supervisor, Bellevue Fire CARES
The demand for crisis response services has increased significantly, putting a strain on emergency services and leaving some community members without adequate follow-up care. This presentation explores an innovative approach to community crisis response that integrates MSW practicum students into follow-up case management roles. In partnership with Fire and Police personnel, MSW students engage in ongoing assessment and referral processes, providing critical support to individuals experiencing mental health or medical crises who require follow-up care. This model not only addresses the high demand for community-based mental health services but also enhances the students’ clinical and practical skills, preparing them for the field. 

This is a great opportunity to gain insights into the implementation, benefits, and challenges of this model, along with practical strategies for integrating practicum students into similar roles within your own communities. 

April 15, 2025: Sustainability and Innovation in Fire-Based Co-Response.
This session will showcase insights from four co-response programs that received the 2024-2025 CROA/BHCore grant, highlighting lessons learned and innovative approaches. The presentation will also explore how these programs effectively collaborate with law enforcement to enhance co-response efforts.
Our expert panel includes:
  • Captain Nicole Picknell, South County Fire
  • Division Chief Tyler Gage, Port Angeles Fire
  • Chief Mike Jackson, Clark-Cowlitz Fire Rescue
  • Julie Rogers, Poulsbo Fire (representing a three-county CARES program in Kitsap)
  • Kim Hendrickson, Program Manager, Fire Innovation Grants, BHCore
January 21, 2025: POISE and COAST—two vital training programs designed to enhance crisis response across Washington State.
Dr. Jennifer Stuber, Executive Director of Behavioral Health Crisis Outreach Response and Education (BHCore), Stephanie Butler and Director of Training for Co-Response will be presenting on POISE and COAST—two vital training programs designed to enhance crisis response across Washington State. BHCore’s website is: https://bhcore.org/.
About POISE: POISE is a comprehensive 40-hour basic training academy designed for co-response and alternative response teams operating within the emergency response system. This training equips teams to provide enhanced crisis response, outreach, and follow-up services offering a roadmap for doing so. Upon completing the academy, participants receive CEUs and a certificate qualifying them for advanced professional development opportunities such as case consultations. Beginning in 2025, POISE will be offered quarterly in three BH-ASO regions across the state.
About COAST: COAST is an 8-hour basic behavioral health training specifically for fire and emergency medical services (EMS). While Washington State is a leader in crisis intervention training for police officers, COAST is one of the first programs designed specifically for fire departments and EMS teams. The training enhances skills for effective crisis response including the unique role of Fire/ EMS within the crisis response continuum, deepens understanding of behavioral health signs and symptoms, and maps out effective follow-up services. Like POISE, COAST provides a roadmap for responding to all calls for service. COAST will also be offered in nine fire departments across the state in 2025.

Previous Year’s Schedules

2024
  • January 23: Using Peers in Overdose Response – Lessons from Everett Our first quarter speaker was Dr. Tom Robey, medical director at the Everett Diversion Center and an emergency physician at Providence Regional Medical Center. Dr. Robey presented findings from a recent study at Providence, supported by the National Institutes of Health, assessing the effect of peers as a part of overdose response. Dr. Robey was recently featured in news stories about using binding antibodies to address methamphetamine addiction: https://www.kuow.org/stories/it-s-almost-like-a-light-switch-everett-doctor-touts-potential-of-new-drug-to-break-meth-addiction
  • May 21st: Communications between 911 and 988 with Lora Ueland and Niel Olson
2023
  • March 21st: Crisis Response in Seattle: Challenges and Opportunities of Multiple Outreach Teams.
    Zee Andrignis from Seattle PD’s Crisis Response Unit, Jon Ehrenfeld from Seattle Fire’s Health One program, and Kayla Hollimon from the Mobile Crisis Team talked about how co-response programs work with mobile crisis teams–and how their police and fire programs complement each other. As 988 systems continue to develop in Washington state, effective relationships between different crisis response teams is critically important. This presentation considered what’s working—and not working—in the field. Recording available here.
  • July 18th: Co-Responders and Designated Crisis Responders: Strategies for Successful Partnerships
    Featuring King County DCR Coordinator Frank Couch, Olympic Health and Recovery Services Crisis Services Manager Jessica Shook and Crisis Response Social Work Supervisor for Bellevue Fire CARES and CCAT Diane Swanberg. Also discussed: the University of Washington’s recent landscape analysis of co-response in Washington State and H.R. 1423 which, if passed, will provide federal funds for unarmed mobile crisis response programs dispatched by 911 (https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/1423/text).
    • Slides from Andrew Hays and Victoria Bautista’s presentation about federal support for co-response
  • October 17: using the validation, deferral, suggestion prompt (VDSP) to de-escalate situations. Featuring Jumpart Mastery founder Andy Prisco and retired Psychiatric Nurse Dan Gapsch. Video to members by emailing croawa@gmail.com.
2022
  • January 18th: Hosted by Redmond Police Department
  • March 15th: Hosted by Port Angeles Fire
  • June 21st: Hosted by Eastside Fire and Rescue
  • September 20th: Hosted by South Snohomish County Fire, guest speaker Margie Balfour. Click here for Margie’s slides, and here for the video recording.
  • December 20th: Host Bellevue Fire CARES. Topic: Utilizing Nurses in Co-Response Programs (Presentations by Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority and Whatcom County Health Department)