The Cost Savings of Diversion Through Mental Health Co-Responder Programs

A police department in northern Delaware developed a co-responder program called the Behavioural Health Unit (BHU) that deployed a trained police officer and mental health clinician to assist individuals presenting with serious mental health issues. The study described in the source article examined diversion/deflection outcomes and estimated the cost savings of decisions to divert people with mental illness (PWMI) from incarceration and hospital emergency care. Between 2020 and 2023, the BHU handled a growing average number of dispatches and increased the average number of connections to care via referrals. Importantly, the program led to fewer instances of incarceration (n = 120) and emergency room visits (n = 97). Both types of diversions yielded a cost savings of over $2.8 million.