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Quote/Term of the Week

Crisis Assistance Response & Engagement Program (CARE) / noun

Available via 911 throughout Chicago, CARE sends behavioral health professionals to help people experiencing mental health crises, providing resources to address their unmet health and social needs.

Ex: The CARE program provides de-escalation, mental health assessment and referrals to community services to a person in crisis.

Working 10 to 4:30…?

Chicago’s non-police crisis response program will operate for an hour longer each day. 

The Crisis Assistance Response & Engagement program sends teams of mental health professionals to respond to certain non-emergency 911 calls relating to someone experiencing mental health and socioemotional distress. Now, the city is slightly expanding those teams’ hours to 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. 

This is the latest step in growing  the CARE program, which as of May, responds to calls across the city. CARE launched in 2021 in just two neighborhood clusters on the North and South sides, and first involved a police officer, a Chicago Fire Department paramedic and Chicago Department of Public Health crisis clinician responding to calls. 

Police and fire department staff were phased out in 2024. Response teams now include a clinician and an EMT from CDPH. Organizers who helped make the program a reality have pushed for the program to run 24/7. City officials previously told City Bureau the city is hiring more response workers to expand to weekends.

So, who responds if someone needs emergency mental health support outside CARE’s operating hours? 

In those cases, 911 dispatchers prioritize sending police officers who have completed CPD’s Crisis Intervention Team Program, said Dr. Chenetra Washington, deputy director of the city’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications. The program, which includes a “40-hour Basic CIT course” was designed to improve police response to mental health crises. If a CIT officer isn’t available, the dispatcher will send out an available officer and will notify the local field sergeant, who is always CIT-certified, Washington said.

The same goes for cases where calls are deemed ineligible for CARE response, such as when a caller indicates that the person in crisis has a weapon, violent tendencies or is an active threat to themselves and others.

The Chicago Council on Mental Health Equity, formerly known as the Crisis Intervention Advisory Committee, is the city’s main advisory committee on mental health and behavioral issues. It is co-chaired by the Mayor’s Office and the Chicago Department of Public Health. 

The group, which meets on a quarterly cadence, evaluates the city's policies, training and crisis intervention methods concerning mental health and substance use issues. This includes emergency calls pertaining to mental health crises. 

Mayor Brandon Johnson has committed to expanding CARE, but a lawsuit targeting a major funding source for the program is still pending.

What you can do:

Attend the next CCMHE meeting: Attend the last CCMHE meeting of 2026 at 2 p.m. Monday, Nov. 2, City Hall, 121 LaSalle St. See more details here.

Catch up on relevant reporting from our Civic Reporting Fellowship: Chicago’s Crisis Mental Health Program Depends on a Social Media Tax

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A version of this story was first published in the August 26, 2026 issue of the Newswire, an email newsletter that is your weekly guide to Chicago government, civic action and what we can do to make our city great. You can sign up for the weekly newsletter here.

Have thoughts on what you'd like to see in this feature? Email Civic Editor Dawn Rhodes at dawn@citybureau.org.