Baltimore will use 1 million in federal grant funding to expand its 911 diversion program, allowing a broader range of nonviolent emergency calls to be routed away from police officers, The Baltimore Sun reported April 20. Mayor Brandon Scott said the 1. 03 million award will enable the city to expand the program beyond the behavioral health crises it was initially designed to handle, helping residents receive more appropriate support during emergencies. The funding was secured by U. S. Rep. Kweisi Mfume (D‐Md. ) through the House Appropriations Committee. Launched in 2021 as part of Baltimore's consent decree with the U. S. Department of Justice, the diversion program originally focused on redirecting suicide‐related calls from police to mental health professionals. Mental health advocates have long urged governments to invest more heavily in behavioral health responses and reduce reliance on police for crisis situations, citing safety and effectiveness concerns. For example, in Maryland's Anne Arundel County, which has been recognized internationally for its Crisis Intervention Team, pairing social workers or mental health clinicians with police officers has helped manage crises that officers may have been ill‐prepared to handle on their own.
Valerie A. Canady (Fri,) studied this question.