Advocates and elected officials across the country are increasingly pursuing legislation at the local, state, and federal levels to prioritize and fund civilian emergency first responder programs that can divert more behavioral health calls from police and are independent of law enforcement funding and oversight structures. The three communities highlighted in this report are actively reducing the role of police in crisis response, but no jurisdiction to date has implemented a crisis response program that is completely independent of law enforcement funding and oversight. The Justice Collaborative’s Policing Task Force, which includes Vera as a partner, has envisioned what these programs might look like and compiled sample legislation to assist advocates and elected officials in advancing local commitments to community-based responses, as well as the necessary funding to plan and implement them. Access the resource.