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Frederick's crisis car program gets federal funding

Frederick News-Post - 12/22/2021

Dec. 22—A Frederick Police Department program to help people experiencing behavioral or mental health crises will be able to expand its hours after receiving more than $280,000 in federal funding.

The department's mobile crisis team recently received $280,254 from the Department of Justice, a funding move announced Monday by U.S. Sens. Ben Cardin (D) and Chris Van Hollen (D) and U.S. Rep. David Trone (D-Dist. 6).

The program pairs police officers with mental health professionals to respond to situations that may require less of a law enforcement response than a medical and mental health response.

The team works to collaborate with partners in the community to improve the effectiveness of handling people in mental or behavioral crisis.

"Mental health calls are some of the most complex cases that an officer can encounter, and our cops do an exceptional job navigating these difficult situations. But often law enforcement is not the right tool when a person is in crisis," Frederick Police Chief Jason Lando said in a statement provided by Trone's office. "The crisis car takes a collaborative approach by adding more tools to the crisis intervention toolbox. This grant allows our agencies to expand the hours of the program to further meet the needs of our residents ... "

The program, which was approved by the city's aldermen in July, is a partnership between the police department, Sheppard Pratt, the Mental Health Association of Frederick County, Frederick County DFRS, the city of Frederick Department of Housing & Human Services and the Frederick County Health Department.

Follow Ryan Marshall on Twitter: @RMarshallFNP

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