EVERETT, SEATTLE, SPOKANE, YAKIMA, Wash. – June 01, 2026 – A new statewide campaign launched today aims to spotlight a widely praised solution to the growing behavioral health crisis, just as federal policy changes threaten to dismantle its financial foundation. The “Return on Response” campaign, championed by the Fourfront Contributor coalition of behavioral health agencies, highlights the success of co-response teams—partnerships that pair mental health professionals with first responders—in transforming how Washington handles emergencies involving mental health and substance use.
These programs are showing remarkable results, diverting individuals from crowded emergency rooms and jails into meaningful care. However, they are launching this awareness effort as the state braces for the impact of the 2025 “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” a federal law projected to strip Medicaid coverage from hundreds of thousands of Washingtonians and destabilize the very community health infrastructure these teams depend on.
A New Blueprint for Crisis Care
Across Washington, a new model for emergency response is taking hold. Instead of a traditional police or paramedic response, 911 calls involving a behavioral health component are increasingly met by a co-response team: a law enforcement officer or firefighter paired with a behavioral health clinician. This integrated approach is designed to de-escalate situations and connect individuals with appropriate care on the spot.
“Co-response is about delivering timely, needs-based intervention at the moment of crisis,” said Jodi Daly, Ph.D., CEO of Comprehensive Healthcare. “By bringing behavioral health professionals directly to the scene, communities see fewer repeat calls, better outcomes for individuals, and more efficient use of public resources.”
This model, first developed in Los Angeles decades ago, has been adapted to fit the unique needs of communities across the state. In Yakima County, Comprehensive Healthcare embeds 18 crisis responders and peer specialists within the Sheriff’s Office and Sunnyside Police Department. In Spokane, Frontier Behavioral Health runs teams with both the city police and county sheriff, and a separate unit with the fire department. In Whatcom County, a Compass Health crisis responder is embedded in the Bellingham Fire Department, with direct access to the dispatch system. And in King County, SOUND Behavioral Health partners with police in Tukwila and Burien.
While the structures vary, the results are consistent: these programs provide effective, compassionate care in moments of intense vulnerability. Data from similar programs in the state shows that co-response teams can dramatically reduce the need for arrests or involuntary hospitalizations. In Spokane, for instance, a 2021 report on the city’s Behavioral Health Unit showed that less than 1% of calls handled by the team resulted in an arrest, saving patrol officers significant time and resources.
“Co-response is about dignity and stabilization in the least restrictive way possible,” said Rayanne Paget, a program administrator for Frontier’s co-responder teams. “When behavioral health professionals and first responders work together, people get help faster, and outcomes improve for everyone involved.”
The Oncoming Storm: Federal Policy vs. State Progress
Just as these programs demonstrate their value, their future is being cast into doubt by sweeping federal policy changes. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” signed into law in July 2025, is set to cut an estimated $1 trillion from Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) over the next decade. For Washington, the consequences could be devastating.
The Washington State Health Care Authority projects that between 200,000 and 320,000 residents could lose their Apple Health (Medicaid) coverage. The federal law mandates that by the end of 2026, the state must implement work requirements for Medicaid eligibility and begin redetermining eligibility for expansion adults every six months instead of annually. These administrative hurdles are expected to cause significant coverage losses.
This creates a perilous situation for co-response programs, which are part of a broader community behavioral health system that heavily relies on Medicaid reimbursement. When individuals lose coverage, they don’t stop having crises; they simply lose access to preventative and ongoing care, making them more likely to end up in the emergency system that co-response was designed to alleviate.
“When funding for community behavioral health takes a dive, communities don’t just lose programs – they lose critical response options,” said Tom Sebastian, CEO of Compass Health. He noted that while Washington state leaders preserved Medicaid rates this year, the looming federal changes could overwhelm the system. “Continued support for co-response programs is essential to helping ensure people get timely care without placing additional strain on our first responders and emergency response systems.”
The federal cuts stand in stark contrast to Washington’s recent state-level efforts to bolster its behavioral health infrastructure. The state has increased provider payment rates, authorized the creation of 23-hour crisis relief centers, and is working to build out its 988 crisis line capabilities.
Voices from the Front Lines
The value of the co-response model is most apparent to those who witness it daily. First responders, often tasked with handling complex social and medical issues beyond their training, have become some of the programs’ biggest advocates.
“Our goal in being part of the Field Response Program is to ensure people receive care that truly meets their needs, while allowing law enforcement to focus on public safety – and we’re seeing that happen,” said Yakima County Sheriff Robert Udell. “When individuals are met where they are, with the right supports in place, situations that might otherwise escalate can be resolved safely.”
This sentiment is echoed in other departments. “Our partnership with Compass Health grew out of what we were seeing on the ground here every day,” said Scott Ryckman, a division chief with the Bellingham Fire Department. “By bringing emergency medicine and behavioral health together, we’re able to look at each situation more completely.”
The immediacy of the response is also critical. “In crisis, minutes matter,” said Joe Vela, crisis services director at SOUND Behavioral Health. “By embedding behavioral health professionals within local first responder agencies, we’re able to get people support faster.”
Despite the successes, these programs face internal challenges, most notably a severe shortage of behavioral health workers. One expert involved in a co-response unit noted that the primary barrier to expansion is not a lack of demand or political will, but a shallow pool of trained professionals available to fill these demanding roles. Inconsistent training standards and the risk of burnout for both clinicians and officers also pose significant hurdles to long-term sustainability.
A Model Under Pressure
Washington’s diverse and evolving co-response initiatives are increasingly seen as a potential blueprint for the rest of the nation. They represent a tangible, evidence-based shift away from criminalizing mental illness and toward a more humane and effective system of care. The ‘Return on Response’ campaign is an effort to defend this progress.
However, the campaign is launching into a precarious environment where state-level innovation is on a collision course with federal austerity. The success of co-response is not in question; its survival is. As Fourfront Contributor and its partners elevate the stories of lives changed and communities made safer, they are simultaneously issuing a stark warning about what stands to be lost. The campaign’s ultimate goal is to secure a future for a system that has already proven its profound worth to the people of Washington.