What is new, local leaders said, is how urgently the model has been needed in this corner of the state and how quickly a rising tide of behavioral health crises has tested the team.

The Routt County team began responding to calls in September, pairing Deputy Sheriff Dawn Smith with licensed clinical social worker Tracy Dierksen to serve Routt and neighboring Moffat County. The team emerged from years of planning, research and grant work.

Its first months have unfolded amid growing concerns about suicide, substance use and repeat crisis calls in the Yampa Valley.

For Sheriff Doug Scherar, the effort grew from years of observing gaps in law enforcement’s ability to respond to behavioral health crises. Conversations about a co-response model began in 2022, when Smith raised the idea while Scherar was still undersheriff.

Smith spent months studying programs across the state and beyond, visiting agencies with both successful and struggling models and attending an international co-responder conference.

The lesson is clear: the most effective programs embed a clinician directly with a dedicated officer, rather than relying on loose coordination between agencies.

“That concept,” Smith said, “seems to have the best results.”

Scherar took the proposal to the Routt County Board of Commissioners in early 2023, which directed the sheriff’s office to pursue grant funding and bring in a consultant to assess local resources. The consultant reached the same conclusion: an embedded clinician paired with a deputy was best suited to Routt County’s size, geography, and needs. UCHealth was selected as the clinical partner, and Dierksen joined Smith for training over the summer. By September, the team was operational.

The push for a new approach came from recognizing that law enforcement was increasingly called to manage behavioral health crises without some of the tools to resolve them. Crisis intervention training helps officers de-escalate situations, but Scherar said it only goes so far.

“You can hopefully stabilize a person and get ’em in touch with resources, but we’re not social workers, we’re not counselors,” the sheriff said.

Historically, officers often faced two unsatisfactory options: charging people in crisis with minor offenses to get them somewhere safe for the night, or taking them to emergency rooms, often leaving them with costly medical bills and unresolved needs.

“There just seemed to be a huge gap,” Scherar said, “between law enforcement’s role and what people in crisis actually need.”

On scene, the team’s approach is intentionally calm and non-punitive. Smith said the most effective tool is often the simplest one.

“People wanna be heard,” she said. “Most of the time we’re listening and just listening, for as long as that takes … and Tracy has the training to actually help them.”

The physical presence of the team matters, too. Smith is in uniform, but Dierksen is not dressed as an officer, even though she wears a protective vest. That reduced law enforcement footprint, combined with clear communication that the team is there to help, often helps lower defenses.

Dierksen agreed that demeanor is critical.

“If a person has a calm presentation to begin with,” she said, “that person (being addressed) feels that, and it can be very soothing.”

For Smith, the appeal of co-response work came from years of frustration responding to calls where more help was needed but fell outside a deputy’s authority.

“There was more to be done,” she said, “but I would’ve had to go way outside my lane to do it.”

For Dierksen, who has worked for years in healthcare as both a nurse and in mental health roles, the work aligns with what she values most.

“The satisfaction has always come from the individual connections that I’ve made,” she said.

Education, Dierksen added, is one of the most powerful tools clinicians can offer. Many people simply do not know what resources exist or how to understand their mental health challenges.

That lack of awareness remains one of the region’s biggest gaps. Scherar said most residents are not thinking about behavioral health resources until they are suddenly needed. Behind the scenes, agencies are working to close those gaps through regular crisis services meetings that bring together partners from Routt, Moffat and Rio Blanco counties.

“What I’ve discovered,” Scherar said, “is that largely the gap has been between different stakeholders … not knowing each other or what each person offers … and approaching it from a fractured, siloed perspective. Now, we’ve done a lot of work to address that.”

The co-responder team operates within that growing network, coordinating with Health Solutions West, LiftUp, REPS, UCHealth, and other partners. While Health Solutions West provides mobile crisis services, the co-responder team fills a different role, particularly when law enforcement involvement is necessary. The relationships built through regular collaboration have made follow-up easier and faster.

“The real backbone to our program is the follow-up,” Scherar said.

Unlike hotline-based crisis services, the team checks back in days, weeks, and even months later to ensure people are attending appointments, filling prescriptions, and overcoming practical barriers, such as transportation. That follow-up often extends beyond the individual in crisis to family members and friends who also need support.

One recent case illustrated how transformative that approach can be. After an arrest involving substance use, the individual told the arresting officer, “I want help.” In the past, Smith said, that might have been the end of the conversation. This time, the officer contacted the co-responder team.

“That’s just a perfect example of how, in the past, we would’ve had to stop at a certain line. Now, we get to move forward with somebody,” she said.

The individual engaged in follow-up care, returned to therapy and medication, worked with a probation officer, and enrolled in online treatment through Charlie Health, a virtual intensive outpatient (IOP) provider that provides online therapy and support groups for those struggling with addiction, as well as other mental health conditions. Smith emphasized that recovery is never guaranteed, but the difference now is that people know support exists.

“Even if this person doesn’t make it into recovery this time, they know that support is there and will hopefully feel that people care,” Smith said. “Isolation is deadly.”

The program has also changed how deputies experience their work. Smith said officers regularly stop by the team’s office with referrals and questions, eager to know how people they encountered are doing weeks later. That continuity is rare in law enforcement and deeply meaningful.

“Oftentimes, we just never get to know if they’re OK in the future,” she said. “Now we get to know that.”

Scherar said the co-response team has been met with enthusiasm, and the long-term goal is to expand coverage to offer 24-hour availability. A behavioral health intern will join in the spring to support case management and explore what a larger team could look like.

People can reach the team through 911, non-emergency dispatch, or referrals, and when they are off duty, deputies continue connecting individuals with existing crisis services.

Smith emphasized that one of the most important goals of the work is helping people feel safe in reaching out for help, without fear of punishment.

“While it is law enforcement, it’s not punitive when our team shows up,” she said.

Working in partnership with local agencies, the team aims to ensure the community knows support is available when it’s needed most.

“At the end of the day, we are doing everything we can to help people,” Smith added.