LOUISVILLE, Ky. — On the one-year anniversary of Louisville's mental health crisis response program, Mayor Craig Greenberg announced it's expanding to serve the entire city.
The Crisis Call Diversion Program (CCDP), known as deflection, started in March 2022 with a focus on Louisville Metro Police's Fourth Division. It was later expanded to include the department's First, Second and Third Divisions.
It works by sending certain 911 calls to a non-police response team to quickly connect those in need with the appropriate resources.
“After the first year of this pilot program, our community has already seen enormous benefits and I’m very proud that we are able to roll it out across our entire city,” Greenberg said.
According to the mayor's office, since its inception, the deflection program has resulted in more than 600 people receiving crisis support without the involvement of Louisville Metro Police (LMPD) officers.
Greenberg said it has relieved those officers of more than 345 hours of time that might have been spent on other calls.
"When police officers respond to these [mental health crisis] calls," he said. "It becomes clear that what those individuals need really isn't a police officer. They need a social worker, they need a trained mental health professional."
The program will now operate in all eight LMPD divisions from 2 p.m. - 10 p.m., seven days a week.
Greenberg said eventually he would like the program to be 24/7, but that will take some time. Seven Counties Services will continue to hire more people to expand the hours of operation.
Here's how deflection works:
- When someone calls 911, MetroSafe staff determine if the call should be transferred to Crisis Triage Workers (CTW) in a new Behavioral Health Hub within MetroSafe.
- The CTW team functions like crisis hotline staff to de-escalate, provide emotional support, create a safety plan and problem-solve for the person.
- If an in-person response would be beneficial, they initiate a mobile response.
- Mobile responders, trained in mental health crisis intervention, then meet the person to further de-escalate and assess the situation. If appropriate, they will connect the individual to appropriate resources.
Greenberg said this expansion is just another way the administration continues to move Louisville forward following the Department of Justice's remedial measures in the wake of its report on LMPD.
One of the measures specifically noted that the deflection program should be expanded.
Three other recommended remedial measures address behavioral health issues in law enforcement, a goal of the program, Greenberg's office said.
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