2026 Progress Report

2026 Target: Double the number of calls being coded as behavioral health-related.

Several call codes that are currently used in Erie County's dispatch field are clearly behavioral health-related. Police officers use some combination of call codes such as "mental health", "suicide threat", and "confused person" to flag dispatches related to behavioral health.8 They use codes such as "§9.41 MH (Mental Health) Evaluation" and "CIT (Crisis Intervention Team) Referred" to identify the call disposition.9 A disposition code is entered at the end of an on-scene incident, during the call close-out process.

For this objective, the CTC Collaborative envisions 911 call takers and first responders more accurately identifying and coding calls as behavioral health-related at three specific points in the processing of an incident: initial dispatch, final dispatch, and in the call disposition field. The figure below presents the behavioral health-related codes at these points for 2024 and 2025, and sets targets for 2026.

Recent Accomplishments

• Until recently, most municipalities in Erie County independently managed the dispatch of ambulance/EMS services. In 2025, Erie County CPS assumed responsibility for operating the Medical Emergency Radio System (MERS) countywide, ensuring one centralized, coordinated system for receiving and dispatching all medical emergency calls. As part of this transition, Erie County CPS acquired 21 staff positions and began cross-training call takers and dispatchers to perform both functions. The county also implemented standards developed by the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) International, introducing structured scripts and decision-support tools that will promote greater consistency in call taking and dispatch operations.
• Erie County CPS has adopted a new CAD software platform that is scheduled to go live in 2027. The system will support secondary call codes, allowing incidents to be classified more accurately. For example, a welfare check could also be coded as involving a behavioral health concern, providing a more complete picture of community needs and service demands.
• The Cheektowaga Police Department (CPD) reviewed its call coding procedures with Erie County CPS in early 2026. As a result, CPD added a new disposition code, "Mental Health Contributing," to its list of available codes. The change is expected to increase the number of incidents being identified as having an underlying behavioral health factor.

Immediate Priorities

• 1.a. Train Erie County CPS call takers and dispatchers: Erie County CPS will continue training call takers and dispatchers on the recently adopted APCO International standards and protocols.
• 1.b. Train police officers: The Erie County CPS Law Enforcement Training Academy is expanding its four-day Field Training Officer (FTO) program by adding a fifth day focused exclusively on behavioral health and mental health response. Because FTOs mentor newly hired officers during field training, this enhancement will help ensure that new officers are familiar with available community resources and are better equipped to determine when it is appropriate to order an involuntary psychiatric evaluation under §9.41 of the New York State Mental Hygiene Law. In addition, New York State's Municipal Police Training Academy has indicated that it plans to increase mental health training requirements for police recruits from 20 to 40 hours. Although Erie County already exceeds the current standard by providing 32 hours of mental health instruction, adoption of the new statewide standard will increase mental health training provided to police recruits in Erie County.
• 1.c. Modify existing CAD software: The new OnCall CAD platform, scheduled for implementation in 2027, will allow multiple call codes to be associated with a single incident. Erie County CPS also plans to incorporate a behavioral health indicator into the call close-out process, enabling officers to document when an incident involved a person who appeared to need behavioral health services, regardless of the call code(s). In the interim, before the new platform is fully operational, police departments may add new disposition codes to the existing CAD system to identify behavioral health involvement in calls, as the Cheektowaga Police Department recently did.
• 1.d. Continue participating in the state effort to explore licensure for telecommunicators: Erie County CPS continues to participate in a statewide initiative led by the New York State Office of Interoperable and Emergency Communications to evaluate the feasibility of telecommunicator licensure. Establishing a professional licensure framework would formally recognize the specialized skills and responsibilities required of emergency communications personnel.

Additional Considerations

• Expansion: Several municipal and county agencies in Erie County, in addition to those already highlighted, are taking steps to improve the processing of 911 calls that involve behavioral health, including the Erie County Sheriff's Office and the police departments serving Amherst, Lancaster, and Town of Hamburg. The CTC Collaborative will work more closely with these law enforcement agencies in the coming months.
• Enhancement: County leaders should assess the feasibility and potential benefits of embedding mental health clinicians within the Erie County CPS communications center. Integrating behavioral health professionals into the call-taking process could improve the identification of behavioral health-related emergencies at the earliest stages of response while strengthening coordination, data collection, dispatch decision-making, and system accountability.

2026 Target: Raise the percentage of calls answered to 85 percent (from 70 percent).

For the purposes of this objective, unanswered calls include those in which the caller disconnects before speaking with a crisis counseling specialist, declines to remain on hold, or is unable to access an available line. Crisis Services will regularly share data with the CTC Collaborative to monitor progress toward this target.

Recent Accomplishments

• In July 2025, Crisis Services implemented a new telecommunications platform, Telesystem, which enables them to identify peak demand periods, better understand why calls go unanswered, and manage the flow of calls arriving from both the local crisis hotline and the 988 Lifeline network.
• Over the past year, Crisis Services expanded the use of structured follow-up practices beyond the requirements of the 988 Lifeline. Crisis counseling specialists now offer follow-up contacts to eligible callers across all hotline services, not just those reaching the organization through 988. These follow-up calls provide additional support to individuals experiencing ongoing distress and help reinforce connections to community resources.
• As part of a broader recruitment and retention strategy, Crisis Services increased compensation for crisis counseling specialists. These efforts have contributed to improved workforce stability. Notably, the hotline program experienced no voluntary staff resignations during 2025.

Immediate Priorities

• 2.a. Increase the team of available crisis counseling specialists:
  • 2.a.1. Broaden the volunteer base: Crisis Services will relaunch its volunteer crisis counselor program in 2026 to supplement staffing levels and increase call-answering capacity. A new volunteer training cohort is scheduled for the fall of 2026.
  • 2.a.2. Recruit part-time workers: Crisis Services is increasing the number of temporary crisis counseling specialists — referred to as per diem crisis counseling specialists — who provide flexible staffing support. These part-time professionals help fill coverage gaps, support peak call periods, and ensure continuous 24/7 operations.
• 2.b. Improve data collection and reporting: Drawing on insights provided by the new Telesystem platform described above, Crisis Services will use these enhanced tools to monitor key performance indicators, including call answer rates, wait times, call duration, types of abandoned calls, and patterns associated with high-frequency callers. These data will support ongoing quality improvement efforts and inform future operational decisions.
• 2.c. Improve the response to high-frequency callers: Crisis Services will develop strategies to better manage the volume of calls from high-frequency callers while maintaining appropriate clinical engagement. Potential approaches include call diversion and specialized intervention strategies that would allow crisis counseling specialists to remain available for other individuals in need of immediate assistance.

Additional Considerations

• 911/988 interoperability: Improved interoperability can help ensure that individuals experiencing behavioral health crises are connected to the most appropriate level of care while reducing unnecessary involvement of law enforcement, EMS, and hospital emergency departments. Interoperability can take several forms, including dedicated transfer lines that facilitate communication between emergency call centers, shared dispatch protocols, and co-locating behavioral health professionals within emergency communications centers. In 2023, Erie County leaders pilot-tested transfer of calls between 911 and Crisis Services. Few calls met the criteria established for call transfer between 911 and Crisis Services. That reality, along with many other factors, limited the impact of the pilot, which was later discontinued. Recent investments within both the county's 911 communications system and the Crisis Services telecommunications platform create an opportunity to revisit this pilot.

2026 Target: Route 500 Code 25 calls from Buffalo to nurse navigators.

This target focuses specifically on behavioral health-related emergency calls that meet established clinical criteria for nurse navigation. Progress toward this goal will be monitored through ongoing collaboration among Buffalo EMS, AMR, and the CTC Collaborative.

Recent Accomplishments

• In coordination with the Buffalo Fire Department's Emergency Medical Service, AMR launched the Nurse Navigation Program in Buffalo in December 2025 to provide an alternative response option for low-acuity EMS calls that may not require ambulance dispatch or hospital transport.
• The program focused initially on diverting Code 25 (psychiatric) and Code 26 (sick person) calls. To ensure eligible behavioral health-related calls are identified consistently and routed appropriately, AMR and its partners in the Buffalo Fire Department developed structured screening protocols and dispatch scripts and trained personnel on their use.
• Following successful implementation, the program was expanded to allow any MPDS-coded call to be routed to a nurse navigator when the call taker determines that diversion is clinically appropriate.
• The Nurse Navigation Program maintains an inventory of community-based resources available to callers. In 2026, BestSelf Behavioral Health opened the BestResponse Intensive Crisis Center in Buffalo, the first Intensive Crisis Stabilization Center (ICSC) to open in Erie County. The ICSC was added to the nurse navigations' network of referral options, expanding the range of alternatives available to individuals experiencing behavioral health crises.
• Within the first few months of the Nurse Navigation Program's launch, nearly 100 Code 25 calls were successfully diverted to nurse navigators.

Immediate Priorities

• 3.a. Improve data collection: AMR currently maintains a performance dashboard that tracks utilization and outcomes of the Nurse Navigation Program, and Buffalo EMS staff have access to these data. However, the dashboard does not differentiate the responses by call type, and the system does not currently allow for reporting on the number of Code 25 calls diverted to nurse navigators. Buffalo EMS currently provides quarterly data extracts to the CTC Collaborative that include information on ambulance dispatches, patient transports, and EMS utilization trends. Buffalo EMS will coordinate with the CTC Collaborative to incorporate nurse navigation metrics into the quarterly reporting framework that the CTC Collaborative is developing.
• 3.b. Coordinate with Crisis Services: Buffalo EMS will explore opportunities to develop formal protocols between the Nurse Navigation Program and Crisis Services. Such coordination could allow nurse navigators to engage mobile crisis teams in situations involving behavioral health emergencies that do not require ambulance dispatch but would benefit from an in-person response. As mobile crisis capacity expands, closer integration between these programs may further enhance the county's ability to provide the right response at the right time.
• 3.c. Enhance training and awareness: Buffalo EMS and AMR are working to strengthen awareness and utilization of available diversion resources through targeted training initiatives:
  • 3.c.1. Train EMS personnel: EMS staff should receive training on referral criteria, transportation protocols, and appropriate usage of the BestResponse Intensive Crisis Center as an alternative to emergency department transport when clinically appropriate.
  • 3.c.2. Provide nurse navigators with ongoing education: Inform nurse navigators of available behavioral health crisis resources throughout Erie County, including mobile crisis services, crisis stabilization programs, and other community-based treatment alternatives.
  • 3.c.3. Develop a public education campaign: Increase community-wide awareness and understanding of the nurse navigation program.

Additional Considerations

• Rural resources: In rural areas of Erie County, access to behavioral health professionals may be limited. The county could consider cross-training selected first responders, including deputies and emergency medical technicians (EMTs), in behavioral health first aid, crisis intervention, and de-escalation techniques. This approach could strengthen the county's capacity to respond effectively to behavioral health crises in areas where embedded clinicians or specialized crisis response teams are not readily available.
• Expansion: As the Nurse Navigation Program matures, Erie County could consider expanding the model to support EMS operations countywide. Broader implementation could further reduce unnecessary ambulance dispatches, improve EMS system efficiency, and increase access to care by connecting residents with appropriate health and behavioral health resources through nurse-led triage and referral services.

2026 Target (Buffalo Police Department): Restructure the BHT/Co-Response Program

2026 Target (Cheektowaga Police Department): Double the Number of Calls Involving Co-Responders

2026 Target (West Seneca Police Department): Formalize Co-Response Program

The West Seneca Police Department directly employs a behavioral health clinician who can ride alongside officers during active calls or provide assistance by phone to officers in the field. The clinician also conducts follow-up activities. The department does not currently capture in the data which calls involved the embedded clinician as part of a co-response to an incident, but the department estimates that the clinician is engaged in nearly all behavioral health-related calls either during or following the incident.

2026 Target (Endeavor Health Services): Improve Consistency in Data Reporting

Endeavor Health Services (EHS) is currently the only provider of embedded mental health clinicians contracting with police departments in Erie County. As more police departments adopt the co-response program, this could evolve, and additional behavioral health providers could contract with police departments to provide clinicians.

Additional Considerations

• Training enhancements: As noted previously, Erie County plans to extend its Field Training Officer (FTO) curriculum from four days to five days by adding a day dedicated to behavioral health and crisis response. Police chiefs across the county have expressed unanimous support for this enhancement. The expanded curriculum presents an opportunity to standardize decision-making related to Mental Hygiene Law §9.41 transports while increasing awareness of alternatives such as the ICSC and other diversion options.
• Expansion: The CTC Collaborative continues to engage additional law enforcement agencies interested in implementing or strengthening alternative response strategies for behavioral health emergencies. Expanding participation will increase access to specialized crisis response services across Erie County and create additional opportunities for shared learning among departments.
• Long-term sustainability: A critical priority for the county is identifying stable, recurring funding sources for co-response programs. Sustainable funding would allow departments and provider organizations to plan strategically, invest in staffing and infrastructure, and reduce reliance on short-term grant opportunities.
• Multidisciplinary approach: Several jurisdictions across the country have adopted multidisciplinary response models that combine the expertise of law enforcement officers, behavioral health clinicians, and emergency medical personnel when responding to behavioral health crises. These approaches recognize that behavioral health emergencies often involve overlapping medical, behavioral, and public safety considerations. By ensuring that the appropriate mix of expertise is available during a response, multidisciplinary teams may improve outcomes while reducing unnecessary hospitalizations and criminal justice involvement.

2026 Target: Increase the share of completed assessments to 65 percent.

Recent Accomplishments

• Crisis Services recently implemented a 30-hour workweek for full-time clinicians within the Mobile Outreach Program as part of a broader effort to reduce burnout and improve staff retention. The initiative is expected to be particularly beneficial in retaining master's-level clinicians, who represent a critical component of the mobile crisis workforce.
• Staffing levels in the Mobile Outreach Program have begun to improve, with 16 new employees joining the mobile crisis team workforce since the beginning of 2026.
• After a period of transient staffing of the CIT Training Coordinator, the position has been filled by the same trainer for more than three years. Thus far in 2026, the program has conducted two 40-hour CIT trainings for law enforcement, both of which were filled to capacity, two CIT dispatcher trainings, and one CIT Advanced training for law enforcement. An additional one to two 40-hour CIT trainings and one to two CIT Advanced trainings are planned for the remainder of 2026.
• Crisis Services has partnered with the School of Social Work at the University at Buffalo to explore strategies for expanding the local crisis intervention workforce. Discussions have focused on increasing student exposure to crisis response practice and exploring micro-credentialing opportunities that could help prepare future professionals for careers in crisis services.

Immediate Priorities

• 5.a. Increase the number of mobile crisis teams: Crisis Services entered 2025 with 10 mobile crisis teams. Its goal is to operate 16 fully staffed teams by the end of 2026. To that end, through grant funding provided by the Lee Foundation, the agency seeks to hire an additional 19 staff members to meet current demand and anticipated future growth in service utilization.
• 5.b. Review policies of the Mobile Outreach Program: Crisis Services will review and update policies, procedures, and programmatic practices associated with the Mobile Outreach Program. This periodic review serves as a quality assurance measure to ensure that services remain effective, responsive, and aligned with best practices.
• 5.c. Coordinate with other partners:
  • 5.c.1. Reestablish and strengthen partnerships with law enforcement agencies throughout Erie County: Crisis Services has served as the county's sole provider of Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training since 2013.
  • 5.c.2. Develop protocols that facilitate the involvement of mobile crisis teams in behavioral health emergencies originating through the 911 system and initially routed to EMS: Buffalo EMS and its newly launched Nurse Navigation Program represent a promising partnership opportunity for Crisis Services. For incidents that do not require ambulance dispatch, nurse navigators could coordinate directly with Crisis Services to deploy mobile crisis teams for an in-person response. Preliminary discussions regarding this collaboration have already begun.
• 5.d. Develop approaches to billing that support financial sustainability:
  • 5.d.1. Explore additional reimbursement options to supplement cost of mobile crisis team services: Currently, Crisis Services bills for mobile crisis team services through ECMC as part of the CPEP mobile unit. However, reimbursement rates for community mental health assessments do not fully cover the cost of service delivery.
  • 5.d.2. Explore billing strategies to cover other program costs: Assess whether cases managed through the Mobile Outreach Program that are successfully resolved without requiring an in-person community assessment may qualify for reimbursement under existing crisis intervention funding streams.

Additional Considerations

• Coordination with the nurse navigator program: As discussed in Objective 3, increasing the availability of mobile crisis teams may create opportunities for greater integration with the Buffalo EMS Nurse Navigation Program. As team capacity expands, the county could consider authorizing nurse navigators to coordinate directly with mobile crisis teams when responding to behavioral health emergency calls that do not require ambulance transport.
• Use of GPS: Crisis Services could explore using GPS-enabled deployment software to improve the efficiency and coordination of mobile crisis team operations. Such technology can provide real-time information regarding team location, status, and availability, enabling dispatchers to assign resources more effectively. The organization has identified Trek Medics Beacon, a cloud-based platform that offers GPS tracking, team coordination, and automated alert notifications through mobile devices.

2026 Targets: (A) Achieve an average of 152 monthly presentations (approximately five per day) at the ICSC. (B) Reduce visits to CPEP, with particular emphasis on reducing presentations that do not result in extended observation or inpatient admission.

Recent Accomplishments

• BestSelf Behavioral Health opened the BestResponse Intensive Crisis Center in January 2026, creating a new community-based alternative to hospital emergency department care for individuals experiencing behavioral health crises. The center serves both youth and adults, regardless of insurance status, who require stabilization and connections to ongoing care but do not necessarily require hospitalization.
• BestResponse has clearly defined inclusion and exclusion criteria. People eligible for services at the ICSC include those experiencing a mental health crisis or substance-related emergency who are medically stable and voluntarily agree to receive services. Individuals requiring a higher level of medical care, including those experiencing significant medical instability, chest pain, seizure-related concerns, acute alcohol withdrawal, or other acute medical conditions, are referred to more appropriate treatment settings.
• Between January and March 2026, fewer than 3 percent of individuals presenting to the ICSC required transfer to CPEP for a higher level of care. These early results suggest that the center is appropriately serving individuals whose needs can be addressed in a community-based crisis stabilization setting.
• ECMC has reduced the amount of time individuals spend in CPEP, largely through expanded psychiatric staffing and more timely clinical evaluations. Because only physicians can authorize discharge from CPEP, increased psychiatric coverage has improved patient throughput. Approximately 55 percent of CPEP visits in 2025 were completed within 24 hours, compared with just under 47 percent in 2024. By comparison, the average total length of stay at the ICSC was under three hours during its first few months of operation in 2026.
• ECMC is currently implementing the EPIC electronic health record platform, which is expected to enhance reporting capabilities and support more robust data analysis in the future.
• BestResponse continuously engages with law enforcement and community partners to address questions regarding clinical eligibility, legal considerations, and risk management practices. The center offers tours and educational sessions to increase familiarity with the facility and its role within the crisis response continuum.

Immediate Priorities

• 6.a. Invest in ongoing outreach and awareness: BestResponse will conduct targeted outreach to additional law enforcement agencies to increase awareness of the ICSC and ensure officers understand the eligibility criteria, referral process, and operational benefits of the center. Several law enforcement agencies — including those in Amherst, Buffalo, Cheektowaga, Town of Hamburg, and West Seneca — have already begun utilizing the ICSC as a crisis stabilization option. However, many municipalities across Erie County have not yet incorporated the center into their response practices.
• 6.b. Inform CPEP visitors about the ICSC: ECMC will revise its discharge paperwork to include information regarding the ICSC. Currently, people leaving CPEP receive information on ECMC's Help Center and other behavioral health providers at discharge. Increasing awareness of the ICSC may help reduce future reliance on emergency department-based psychiatric care.
• 6.c. Authorize ambulance transport to the ICSC: The ICSC will complete and submit the necessary regulatory approvals with the New York State Department of Health to permit direct ambulance transport to the facility. Once authorized, this change could expand access to community-based crisis stabilization services and further reduce reliance on hospital-based emergency care.
• 6.d. Improve ICSC data reporting: As noted in Objective 4, BestSelf Behavioral Health, which is the parent company of BestResponse, has submitted a request to its EMR vendor to expand data collection capabilities related to services delivered through the ICSC. Enhanced reporting functionality will improve the county's ability to evaluate outcomes, monitor utilization patterns, and assess the center's impact on the broader crisis response system.

Additional Considerations

• Metrics for success: As utilization of the ICSC increases, Erie County should establish clear metrics for measuring successful diversion from CPEP. Key questions include whether increases in ICSC presentations correspond with reductions in CPEP visits and whether those reductions occur among populations most appropriate for community-based stabilization services. ECMC and BestResponse should consider conducting a formal evaluation after the first year of operation to determine the extent to which the ICSC is reducing demand on hospital-based psychiatric emergency services.
• Raising awareness: More than half of individuals presenting to CPEP each year are estimated to arrive as walk-in clients rather than through law enforcement or EMS referrals. The county should consider implementing a targeted outreach and public education strategy to increase awareness of alternative crisis care options. Identifying the most effective communication channels and messaging strategies could help redirect appropriate individuals to less restrictive and more timely options for behavioral health support, including the ICSC.

2026 Target: Reduce repeat CPEP visits by 5 percentage points.

Recent Accomplishments

• ECMC conducts biweekly multidisciplinary meetings focused on patients with high emergency department utilization to identify opportunities for improved care coordination and alternative service pathways. In addition, ECMC holds weekly case conferences to review adolescents with a history of repeated CPEP utilization, including both acute intervention planning and longer-term care coordination strategies.
• ECMC routinely notifies the Erie County Department of Mental Health of individuals with three or more CPEP visits within 30 days to support cross-provider coordination and linkage to community-based services.

Immediate Priorities

• 7.a. Identify repeat visitors earlier: ECMC will develop a plan for flagging individuals who visit CPEP more than once within 30 days. Earlier identification of potential repeat visitors would enable more proactive intervention, enhanced discharge planning, and strengthened linkage to ongoing care and support.
• 7.b. Strengthen post-discharge engagement in treatment: ECMC will evaluate options to improve engagement in post-discharge behavioral health treatment for people visiting CPEP. Enhancing care transitions, including timely outpatient appointments and proactive outreach after discharge, is expected to reduce reliance on CPEP as the default crisis response setting.

Additional Considerations

• Systemwide approach: A coordinated, systemwide approach is needed to improve accountability for continuity of care and reduce reliance on CPEP as a primary entry point for behavioral health treatment. Such an approach may include enhanced information-sharing across providers, standardized follow-up protocols for missed appointments, and more assertive outreach to individuals at high risk of disengagement. Strengthening engagement in ongoing behavioral health treatment is critical to reducing crisis recurrence and minimizing avoidable emergency department utilization. ECMC, BestResponse, and other providers should consider developing a systemwide accountability framework for post-crisis engagement in treatment.
• Involving Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs): Local CCBHCs could play a greater role in discharge planning for high-frequency populations. A mechanism to notify CCBHCs when individuals have recently presented at CPEP, for example, would enable more rapid outreach and care coordination.
• Post-crisis services: The New York State OMH is actively working with hospitals and community providers to improve post-hospitalization engagement. These approaches could potentially be extended to CPEP discharges, particularly for individuals with repeated crisis presentations. Further exploration is warranted regarding how to better match individuals seen at CPEP with appropriate community-based services and reduce reliance on emergency care as the primary behavioral health access point.

Recent Accomplishments

• The Erie County Department of Mental Health has contracted with CCNY Inc. to develop an internal crisis care dashboard that integrates data from local behavioral health providers. Once fully operational and supported by appropriate HEALTHeLINK35 access, this tool will enable more robust monitoring of post-crisis engagement.
• The BestResponse Intensive Crisis Center in Buffalo provides structured care coordination and facilitates direct linkage to providers within the BestSelf Health Home network under New York State's Medicaid Health Home program. In cases where individuals miss scheduled follow-up appointments, BestResponse conducts outreach to reschedule and re-engage individuals in care.36

Immediate Priorities

• 8.a. Strengthen post-crisis follow-up and outreach: ECMC and BestResponse will adopt or refine policies to ensure that individuals discharged from CPEP or the ICSC successfully engage in recommended follow-up care through proactive outreach and care coordination.
• 8.b. Enhance discharge planning: For individuals with repeated use of emergency behavioral health services, ECMC and BestResponse will review the existing discharge planning process and identify strategies that will enhance the coordination protocols to support sustained engagement in community-based treatment. This may include stronger handoffs to providers, more structured follow-up expectations, and clearly defined accountability for ensuring continuity of care after discharge.

Additional Considerations

• Measuring progress: Although both ECMC and the ICSC can document successful referrals to community-based services, additional strategies are needed to measure and improve actual treatment engagement, not just referral completion. This may include standardized tracking of appointment attendance, follow-up contact protocols, and escalation pathways for individuals who repeatedly disengage from care.
• Pilot programming: The Erie County Department of Mental Health should explore the feasibility of launching a pilot program that provides enhanced care coordination and incentivizes sustained engagement in outpatient behavioral health treatment.
• Standardized oversight: The New York State OMH and the Erie County Department of Mental Health could consider incorporating post-discharge engagement practices into quality review and licensing oversight processes.

Recent Accomplishments

• As part of the CTC Collaborative, the University at Buffalo School of Social Work is working on a planning grant to strengthen the regional crisis care workforce pipeline. This includes developing a comprehensive curriculum for undergraduate and graduate students, as well as ongoing professional development opportunities for current practitioners. Financial support for this effort is being provided by the Garman Family Foundation.
• Several police departments in Erie County have implemented wellness initiatives to support their workforce, including emotional support animals and expanded wellness programming. Departments participating in co-response models report increased awareness of mental health concerns among personnel.
• The Lee Foundation also provided grant funding to the WNY Peer Helpline, which operates an anonymous peer hotline for law enforcement and trains first responders in mental health supports.

Immediate Priorities

• 9.a. Fund mental health support: Identify and pursue funding sources to support mental health programming for first responders and 911 emergency communications center staff.
• 9.b. Grow the crisis care workforce: Identify additional opportunities to support local police departments in expanding the use of embedded clinicians.

Recent Accomplishments

• The Mental Health Crisis Response Triage Tool, originally developed by the Millennium Collaborative Care Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment (DSRIP) initiative, has been recently updated by a committee of community-based providers and advocates together with the Erie County Department of Mental Health, and re-released to community providers. It is designed to reduce unnecessary reliance on hospitalization and improve timely access to appropriate levels of care.
• As referenced in Objective 8, the Erie County Department of Mental Health has commissioned CCNY Inc. to develop an internal dashboard that will serve as a centralized platform for behavioral health data from local providers. This tool has the potential to support a more coordinated regional response to individuals experiencing behavioral health crises.
• All data partners (see "Sources" for a full list of organizations providing data) have committed to regular data sharing with the CTC Collaborative to inform quarterly progress reports for the Leadership Committee. Quarterly data submissions began in April 2026, and the first quarterly report was presented to the Leadership Committee in July 2026.

Immediate Priorities

• 10.a. Behavioral health treatment engagement: Support CCNY's development of the behavioral health services dashboard. Phase One dashboard partners include BestSelf Behavioral Health, Crisis Services, Endeavor Health Services, and Recovery Options Made Easy (ROME). Phase Two may expand to include ECMC data integration.
• 10.b. Support training on the Mental Health Crisis Response Triage Tool: Explore funding opportunities to train local behavioral health providers on the updated triage tool.
• 10.c. Monitor progress through quarterly reporting:
  • 10.c.1. Share data regularly: Data partners will continue quarterly data sharing to support ongoing monitoring of trends.
  • 10.c.2. Automate quarterly reporting: Explore opportunities to automate portions of the quarterly reporting process by developing scripts or other tools to extract de-identified data into standardized, shareable formats. This would improve efficiency and reduce the time required to produce each quarterly report.

Additional Considerations

• Cross-training: In areas of the county under the jurisdiction of the Erie County Sheriff's Office, consider cross-training first responders (deputies and EMTs) in behavioral health first aid and de-escalation techniques to strengthen response capacity in regions without embedded clinical staff.
• Dashboard expansion: Assess the feasibility of expanding the behavioral health provider dashboard to include first responder data, such as 911 CAD records and trends from Behavioral Health Teams and other co-responder programs. Alternatively, consider developing an integrated dashboard that tracks behavioral health emergency responses from initial 911 call through dispatch, response, and final disposition.
• Triage tool integration: Explore integrating the Mental Health Crisis Response Triage Tool into provider software systems to better capture assessment data and evaluate how effectively the tool is being used.
• Release of performance metrics: While internal performance metrics are typically available to agency leadership, they are not always shared publicly. Increased transparency through regular reporting can enhance public awareness of challenges and progress, while also building broader community support for ongoing initiatives.