The Association of Co-Response Clinicians (ACRC)
Built by Clinicians. Guided by Ethics. Focused on Trust.
The Colorado
Co-Response Practice Act
Proposed Legislative Framework for the Protection of Public Trust, Clinical Integrity, and Effective Crisis Response
The Colorado Co-Response Practice Act
Protecting Public Trust. Strengthening Crisis Response. Advancing Behavioral Health.
Executive Summary
Behavioral health crises are health emergencies—not criminal events. Across Colorado, co-response programs have transformed crisis intervention by pairing licensed behavioral health clinicians with law enforcement and other first responders to provide compassionate, evidence-based care during moments of crisis. These programs have reduced unnecessary arrests, emergency department utilization, incarceration, and repeated encounters with the criminal justice system while improving connections to treatment and community resources.
As co-response programs continue to expand, Colorado lacks a consistent legal framework defining the role, responsibilities, ethical obligations, and protections of behavioral health clinicians working in these unique environments. The absence of statewide standards creates uncertainty for clinicians, public safety agencies, policymakers, and—most importantly—the individuals and families who rely on these services.
The Colorado Co-Response Practice Act establishes the nation's first comprehensive practice framework for behavioral health co-response. The Act recognizes co-response as a specialized area of clinical practice and creates statewide standards designed to protect both the public and the professionals providing crisis intervention.
What the Act Does
The Colorado Co-Response Practice Act would:
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Protect Clinical Independence by ensuring licensed behavioral health professionals retain independent clinical judgment while collaborating with public safety agencies.
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Safeguard Confidentiality by reinforcing existing privacy protections and clarifying how clinical information may be collected, documented, and shared.
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Establish Statewide Standards for training, supervision, documentation, ethical practice, trauma-informed care, and quality assurance.
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Define the Scope of Co-Response Practice by clarifying the responsibilities, authority, and limitations of behavioral health co-responders.
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Protect Individuals in Crisis by promoting informed engagement, transparency, civil rights, and dignity during behavioral health interventions.
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Support Public Safety Partnerships through evidence-based collaboration that improves outcomes for individuals, responders, and communities.
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Strengthen Accountability by requiring statewide quality standards, outcome reporting, and continuous program improvement.
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Promote Workforce Excellence through specialized education, advanced competency recognition, and professional development opportunities for co-responders.
Why This Matters
The effectiveness of co-response depends on public trust. Individuals experiencing a behavioral health crisis must feel confident that seeking help will lead to care—not that their conversations with clinicians will routinely become part of a criminal investigation. At the same time, clinicians need clear legal guidance that supports ethical practice while working alongside public safety professionals in complex and rapidly evolving situations.
The Colorado Co-Response Practice Act affirms that behavioral health professionals are healthcare providers first. It preserves the therapeutic relationship, strengthens collaboration with first responders, and ensures crisis intervention remains focused on stabilization, safety, and connection to care.
A National Model for Co-Response
Colorado has long been recognized as a national leader in behavioral health innovation. By adopting the Colorado Co-Response Practice Act, the state has an opportunity to establish the first comprehensive legislative framework dedicated to co-response practice. The Act provides a foundation for consistent, ethical, and evidence-informed crisis response while protecting the rights of individuals, supporting the behavioral health workforce, and strengthening community safety.
Guiding Principles
The Colorado Co-Response Practice Act is founded on six core principles:
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Behavioral health crises deserve a healthcare response.
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Clinical independence is essential to ethical practice.
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Confidentiality builds trust and improves engagement.
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Public safety and public health are complementary goals.
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Statewide standards improve consistency, quality, and accountability.
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Every person experiencing a crisis deserves dignity, respect, and access to appropriate care.
The Colorado Co-Response Practice Act is designed to ensure that collaboration between behavioral health and public safety strengthens communities while preserving the integrity of clinical care, protecting constitutional rights, and promoting lasting recovery.
First responder partners may include:
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Law enforcement officers;
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Firefighters;
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Paramedics;
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Emergency medical technicians;
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Emergency medical services personnel;
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Emergency communications or dispatch personnel;
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Mobile crisis personnel;
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Emergency management personnel; and
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Other public-safety or emergency-response professionals.
A co-response clinician is a graduate-level, state-regulated behavioral health professional who responds jointly or in coordination with one or more first responders to individuals experiencing an actual or suspected behavioral health crisis.
The co-response clinician exercises independent clinical judgment and provides behavioral health crisis assessment, de-escalation, stabilization, safety planning, care coordination, referral, and follow-up services.
The clinician works with first responders to identify the safest, least restrictive, and most clinically appropriate response while reducing unnecessary arrest, incarceration, emergency department use, involuntary treatment, repeated emergency-system involvement, and other avoidable adverse outcomes.
Employer policies do not supersede a licensed clinician's legal and ethical obligations. Mental health professionals remain personally responsible for complying with their professional codes of ethics, licensing board requirements, HIPAA, 42 CFR Part 2, and all other applicable privacy and confidentiality laws. While organizations may establish internal policies, the individual clinician remains accountable for protecting client rights, maintaining confidentiality, and practicing in accordance with professional standards.
Definition of a Co-Response Clinician
The co-response clinician exercises independent clinical judgment and provides behavioral health crisis assessment, de-escalation, stabilization, safety planning, care coordination, referral, and follow-up services.
The clinician works with first responders to identify the safest, least restrictive, and most clinically appropriate response while reducing unnecessary arrest, incarceration, emergency department use, involuntary treatment, repeated emergency-system involvement, and other avoidable adverse outcomes.
Employer policies do not supersede a licensed clinician's legal and ethical obligations. Mental health professionals remain personally responsible for complying with their professional codes of ethics, licensing board requirements, HIPAA, 42 CFR Part 2, and all other applicable privacy and confidentiality laws. While organizations may establish internal policies, the individual clinician remains accountable for protecting client rights, maintaining confidentiality, and practicing in accordance with professional standards.
The co-response clinician exercises independent clinical judgment and provides behavioral health crisis assessment, de-escalation, stabilization, safety planning, care coordination, referral, and follow-up services.
The clinician works with first responders to identify the safest, least restrictive, and most clinically appropriate response while reducing unnecessary arrest, incarceration, emergency department use, involuntary treatment, repeated emergency-system involvement, and other avoidable adverse outcomes.