Local Politics
  1. Home
  2. US
  3. Utah
  4. Salt Lake City
  5. Issues

Emergency Diversified Response Programs

At a glance

  • What: Four emergency diversified response programs (CHAT, MRT, CCT, CRT) within Fire and Police Departments serving behavioral health, homelessness, addiction and crisis calls.
  • Where it stands: Comprehensive Council briefing held August 25, 2026; first in planned series; Council requested additional public education and training information.
  • Status: Programs operating; Council reviewing and requesting expanded public communication.

Programs overview

Community Connection Team (CCT, Police Department)

  • Police Department social workers
  • Purpose: Divert calls from full teams of sworn officers using trauma-informed and de-escalation approaches; fill gaps in case management services
  • Training: Behavioral health, substance use, crisis intervention, de-escalation

Community Health Access Team (CHAT, Fire Department)

  • Fire Department social workers
  • Purpose: Respond to lower-level emergencies to prevent full deployment of Fire truck/teams; provide short-term case management services
  • Follow-up: Support intended to connect individuals with ongoing services and reduce repeated emergency-system use

Medical Response Team (MRT, Fire Department)

  • Fire Department paramedics in smaller response vehicles
  • Purpose: Respond to lower-acuity medical calls, allowing larger Fire apparatus to remain available for major emergencies
  • Coordination: Routing of medical calls between MRT and CHAT

Police Civilian Response Team (PCRT, Police Department)

  • Civilian responders for lower-priority calls
  • Purpose: Lower-priority calls that do not require a sworn police officer
  • Coordination: Coordination between PCRT, CCT, and Police patrol when determining appropriate response

Key discussion topics

  • Coordination and information-sharing among City and regional response partners
  • Dispatch and deployment of appropriate response teams
  • "Warm handoffs" (referrals to shelters and other community resources)
  • Responder training
  • Outcome tracking
  • Public communication regarding available services

Council requests

Sarah Young: Requested clearer public education on the names and roles of the City's diversified response teams and available response options. Chief Milne stated staff would accommodate the request.

Alejandro Puy: Requested additional information regarding ongoing Police Department training beyond the academy, including training that assisted officers in identifying and connecting individuals with the appropriate response resources.

Timeline

  • Briefing: Tuesday, August 25, 2026 (first in planned series of briefings on diversified response programs)
  • Non-Emergency Response programs briefing: To be scheduled at later date

Sources

Log

2026-08-25 - City Council Work Session

Comprehensive briefing on City's four emergency diversified response programs (CHAT, MRT, CCT, CRT) serving behavioral health, homelessness, addiction and crisis calls. Allison Rowland introduced as first in planned series. Megan Yuill and Andrew Johnston presented overview of programs. Council, staff, and officials discussed coordination, dispatch, deployment, training, outcome tracking, and public communication. Sarah Young requested clearer public education on team names and roles; Alejandro Puy requested information on Police training beyond academy.