The Association of Co-Response Clinicians (ACRC)
Built by Clinicians. Guided by Ethics. Focused on Trust.
FieldWise™ Institute
Grounded in Connection. Driven by Evidence. Equipped to Respond.
Enhancing the Co-Response Clinician's Field Readiness
Overview
FieldWise™ is the educational and professional development institute of the Association of Co-Response Clinicians (ACRC™). It was established to address a critical gap in behavioral health education by preparing clinicians for the unique realities of co-response, mobile crisis, and public safety practice.
Behavioral health professionals enter the workforce with strong graduate-level education in assessment, diagnosis, ethics, and psychotherapy. However, most graduate programs are designed to prepare clinicians for traditional office-based practice. While students may have opportunities to complete electives focused on specialty populations—such as substance use disorders, trauma, or youth—there is currently no standardized educational pathway dedicated to the specialized competencies required of co-response clinicians.
Today's co-response clinicians are expected to assess behavioral health crises in unpredictable environments, collaborate with law enforcement and emergency responders, navigate complex legal and ethical decisions, communicate effectively under pressure, document high-risk encounters, and engage individuals experiencing profound trauma—all while maintaining clinical judgment, personal safety, and professional integrity.
These competencies are rarely taught in graduate education. Instead, they are often acquired through experience, mentorship, and trial and error.
FieldWise™ was created to change that.
Welcome to the FieldWise™ Institute
Our Purpose
The purpose of FieldWise™ is to enhance the field readiness of co-response clinicians by providing a comprehensive, competency-based educational framework that prepares clinicians to work confidently, ethically, and effectively within interdisciplinary public safety environments.
FieldWise™ recognizes that co-response is more than an extension of traditional behavioral health practice—it is a specialized clinical discipline requiring advanced knowledge, practical skills, operational awareness, and ongoing professional development.
Just as clinicians pursue post-graduate specialization through credentials such as the Licensed Addiction Counselor (LAC), forensic certifications, or grief counseling certifications, FieldWise™ envisions a future in which co-response is recognized as its own area of advanced clinical specialization.
Our Mission
To enhance the field readiness of co-response clinicians by developing the knowledge, skills, judgment, and professional competencies necessary to provide safe, ethical, evidence-informed, and culturally responsive behavioral health services in partnership with public safety agencies.
What Is Field Readiness?
Field readiness extends beyond academic knowledge. It is the ability to translate clinical expertise into effective action within dynamic, unpredictable, and high-acuity environments.
A field-ready co-response clinician demonstrates sound clinical judgment while maintaining professionalism, ethical integrity, situational awareness, and compassionate engagement under pressure.
Field readiness requires the integration of clinical expertise, operational awareness, interdisciplinary collaboration, legal knowledge, cultural humility, and emotional resilience.
Long-Term Vision
FieldWise™ represents the educational foundation for the future of the co-response profession.
Our long-term goals include:
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Establishing nationally recognized competency standards for co-response clinicians.
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Providing continuing education approved for professional licensure renewal.
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Developing specialty certificate programs and advanced practice endorsements.
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Supporting instructor development and clinical supervision.
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Advancing research and evidence-informed best practices.
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Partnering with universities, behavioral health agencies, and public safety organizations.
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Supporting the development of a voluntary specialty certification pathway for co-response clinicians.
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Contributing to the proposed Co-Response Practice Act, establishing a framework for professional recognition, competency development, and sustainable workforce advancement.
Our Commitment
FieldWise™ is committed to strengthening the profession—not by replacing existing education or partnerships, but by building upon them.
We believe that clinicians who are prepared for the realities of field-based practice provide safer, more effective, and more compassionate care. By investing in education, competency, and professional identity, we strengthen interdisciplinary collaboration, elevate clinical excellence, and improve outcomes for the individuals, families, and communities we serve.
Educational Philosophy
FieldWise™ believes competency develops through the integration of knowledge, practice, reflection, supervision, and continued professional growth.
Learning extends beyond lectures through case studies, scenario-based exercises, skills demonstrations, ethical discussions, interdisciplinary collaboration, and applied field experiences. This approach mirrors other advanced professional specialties that combine foundational licensure with specialized post-graduate competency development.
Guiding Principle
FieldWise™ believes competency develops through the integration of knowledge, practice, reflection, supervision, and continued professional growth.
Learning extends beyond lectures through case studies, scenario-based exercises, skills demonstrations, ethical discussions, interdisciplinary collaboration, and applied field experiences. This approach mirrors other advanced professional specialties that combine foundational licensure with specialized post-graduate competency development.
FieldWise™ Institute: Committed to Enhancing the Entire Co-Response Model
Out with the OLD- in with the New:
Traditional Case Management vs. Credentialed Peer Support in Co-Response
The Role of Peer Support Specialists in the Fieldwise™ Co-Response Model
Fieldwise™ is committed to enhancing the entire continuum of the co-response model—not simply improving crisis intervention, but strengthening every phase of care that follows. As co-response continues to emerge as an evidence-informed profession, Fieldwise recognizes that Peer Support Specialists are an essential component of high-functioning interdisciplinary teams.
While many co-response programs rely on Resource Specialists, Case Managers, Care Coordinators, or similar professionals to provide follow-up after a behavioral health crisis, these positions often differ considerably across agencies in terms of required education, training, credentialing, supervision, and professional accountability. Many individuals serving in these roles provide exceptional care; however, in many jurisdictions there is no consistent statewide or national framework governing qualifications, competencies, or ethical standards. As a result, the quality and consistency of post-crisis engagement can vary depending on the organization rather than a recognized professional standard.
FieldWise believes that the period following a behavioral health crisis deserves the same level of professionalism, accountability, and evidence-informed practice as the crisis response itself. For this reason, FieldWise advocates for integrating credentialed Peer Support Specialists into co-response teams whenever possible.
These professionals complete standardized training, demonstrate competency through supervised experience, adhere to a professional code of ethics, and maintain ongoing credentialing requirements—providing an additional layer of consistency, accountability, and quality assurance for individuals navigating recovery.
When a clinician responds to a behavioral health crisis, their work should not culminate in a referral that becomes an email filled with hyperlinks or a list of phone numbers. Individuals deserve more than information—they deserve connection. They deserve someone who will answer the phone, meet them where they are, help them overcome barriers to care, remain engaged through setbacks without judgment, and continue walking alongside them until stabilization becomes meaningful recovery.
Clients deserve more than a referral—they deserve someone who walks beside them. Someone who understands that healing takes time, trust, and repeated engagement. Someone who doesn't interpret silence as resistance, but recognizes it as a common response to trauma, mental illness, substance use, or overwhelming life circumstances. They deserve support that is compassionate, persistent, and rooted in the belief that every person is worth another phone call, another visit, and another opportunity to reconnect.
Fieldwise proposes a different standard.
Rather than viewing post-crisis support as simply connecting individuals with community resources or providing referral lists, the Fieldwise model emphasizes relationship-centered navigation. Individuals recovering from a crisis need more than someone who can search for services—they deserve someone who can walk alongside them through the often overwhelming process of accessing care, overcoming barriers, and maintaining engagement with treatment and community supports.
For this reason, Fieldwise strongly advocates for the integration of credentialed Peer Support Specialists as core members of co-response teams.
In Colorado, Peer Support Professionals—including Peer Specialists, Peer Navigators, and Recovery Coaches—are credentialed through the Colorado Providers Association (COPA), the state's recognized governing body for the Colorado Peer and Family Specialist (CPFS) credential. This credential aligns with the standards established by the International Credentialing and Reciprocity Consortium (IC&RC), ensuring nationally recognized competencies and professional accountability.
Like clinicians, credentialed Peer Support Specialists must complete standardized education, demonstrate competency through supervised experience, satisfy required service hours, adhere to an established code of ethics, successfully complete credentialing examinations, and maintain ongoing continuing education to preserve their certification. These requirements professionalize the role while ensuring consistency, quality, and accountability in service delivery.
"Every person is worth another phone call, another visit, and another opportunity to reconnect."
FieldWise is not replacing case management—it is professionalizing post-crisis engagement. Ensuring that every client is met with compassion and understanding that can be missed by traditional case management models.
Fieldwise believes this level of professional preparation is particularly important within co-response. Crisis intervention does not end when the scene is cleared. In many cases, the days and weeks following a behavioral health crisis are when individuals are at greatest risk for disengagement, relapse, repeat crisis, hospitalization, justice-system involvement, or suicide. The quality of support provided during this period can significantly influence long-term outcomes.
Credentialed Peer Support Specialists bring a unique combination of professional training and lived experience that allows them to establish trust, reduce stigma, model recovery, and help individuals navigate complex behavioral health systems. Their ability to engage clients through authentic relationships often complements the clinical expertise of licensed behavioral health professionals in ways that traditional case management alone cannot.
FieldWise envisions co-response teams as interdisciplinary systems in which every professional contributes specialized expertise while working toward a shared goal: improving outcomes for individuals experiencing behavioral health crises. Mental health clinicians provide comprehensive behavioral health assessments, suicide and violence risk assessments, crisis intervention, de-escalation, safety planning, resource coordination, and recommendations for the least restrictive level of care. When clinically appropriate, they facilitate placement in behavioral health treatment settings, including crisis stabilization units, inpatient psychiatric facilities, detoxification programs, and other community-based services. First responders establish scene safety, address immediate public safety concerns, and create the conditions necessary for effective clinical engagement. Credentialed Peer Support Specialists extend care beyond the crisis by providing recovery-oriented engagement, sustained outreach, systems navigation, advocacy, hope, and continuity of support that bridges the gap between crisis stabilization and long-term recovery. Together, these professionals create a comprehensive continuum of care that addresses immediate needs while promoting lasting recovery, resilience, and community well-being.
This model elevates co-response beyond crisis management and toward comprehensive community-based behavioral healthcare.
Ultimately, Fieldwise believes that people emerging from behavioral health crises deserve the highest standard of care—not only during the crisis itself, but throughout their recovery journey. Professionalizing every member of the co-response team, including Peer Support Specialists, represents an important step toward building more effective, accountable, and recovery-oriented systems of care.
Fieldwise™ supports transitioning the Resource Specialist role toward a credentialed Peer Specialist model to strengthen accountability within the co-response system. Every professional involved in co-response should be accountable to a governing body outside of their employing organization. Clinicians and law enforcement personnel are already held to established licensing standards, professional codes of conduct, and formal disciplinary processes. Resource Specialists, however, often lack both standardized credentials and an external regulatory body responsible for overseeing their professional actions and ethical conduct. Establishing credentialing and oversight for this role would create clearer expectations, promote consistency across agencies, and ensure that all members of the co-response team are held to comparable standards of professionalism, ethics, and accountability. This approach would further strengthen the multidisciplinary nature of the co-response model by ensuring that each team member is ethically accountable for supporting the client’s best interests while also protecting the integrity, effectiveness, and overall mission of the co-response system.