By Erica C. Barnett
A new report from the city’s Office of Inspector General confirms what Community Assisted Response and Engagement (CARE) Department Chief Amy Barden has been saying for more than a year: The new contract between the city and the Seattle Police Officers Guild (SPOG), which was put on a fast track last year after Katie Wilson beat incumbent mayor Bruce Harrell, drastically limits the ability of the CARE team of civilian first responders to respond to crisis calls, which is the entire the reason they exist.
Although many other US cities now have crisis response teams who have replaced police for calls that don’t require armed officers or where police may make the situation worse), Seattle has increasingly lagged behind. When Harrell announced the new contract, he emphasized the fact that it allowed CARE to respond to calls without police in tow—what’s known as a “primary” response—for the first time since its inception, in 2023. A Until last year, police had to be present, at least initially, during every 911 response.
But the new contract also included a memorandum of understanding between the city and SPOG that dramatically reduced CARE’s ability to respond to the type of calls that were supposed to be its raison d’être: Welfare checks, “person down” calls, and nuisance calls.
The agreement, which CARE had no role in crafting and did not approve, “prohibits CARE response to calls involving substance abuse, persons in homeless encampments and on private property, and individuals in crisis,” according to the report. “This excludes a significant portion of the population CARE was intended to serve.”
“CARE’s scope of work remains significantly impacted by the terms of the SPOG contract,” the report says. “Even as the SPOG contract adds a new response type, expands call types, and removes the cap on new staffing, it also further limits the CARE Team.”
In a statement, Mayor Katie Wilson’s office said the review “places an important spotlight on limitations placed on CARE crisis responders under the SPOG collective bargaining agreement negotiated by the prior administration. Seattle’s residents have been unambiguously clear in their demand for an alternative response to emergency calls, and the CARE crisis responders were curtailed by past City leadership, through no fault of their own.”
Barden said she sees some positive news in the most recent data from the report, which show a 32 percent uptick in CARE responses compared to the previous 12-week average. “I think this is due in part to the team being available early morning, and in part due to stronger relationships with the SPD precinct captains and more clarity about what constitutes a crisis call that is clinical in nature and most appropriate for the CARE team,” Barden said.
Wilson’s office said the mayor is “optimistic about the positive and productive collaboration Interim [Police] Chief [Andre] Sayles has formed with the CARE department and other community safety partners. That commitment to partnership will be an essential qualification for our next permanent chief.”
The team is planning to start operating out of library branches with a high number of crisis calls, and is launching a partnership with the downtown jail to intercept people leaving jail who need services, which Barden said should use up the rest of the 32-member team’s capacity. “I anticipate that these strategies will create more work than we currently have staff for, so I am not concerned with the existing limitations explained in the OIG report,” Barden said. The city’s 2026 budget included funding for 48 CARE crisis responders, but Barden said she thought it made sense to spread out or slow down hiring in light of the current economic forecast and $175 million budget deficit, which could force cuts to many city departments.
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Without a change to the underlying SPOG contract, however, CARE remains severely limited in its ability to accomplish its original remit of responding to 911 calls in the place of police. The current contract runs through the end of next year.
“Dual dispatch,” which was previously the only way CARE could be sent out on calls, is limited in new ways under the MOU, the OIG report notes; officers who would previously have been directed to call CARE to provide assistance can now “take immediate action if they believe it is appropriate” without calling the team at all. Another problem, according to the report, is that SPD’s very slow response to low-priority calls that require dual dispatch under the contract means that “community members do not receive help when they need it, even if CARE is available,” undermining confidence in the team.
A large number of the calls CARE responds to—388 in the first three months of 2026—originate with police who respond to calls and then, after determining they’re appropriate for social workers, refer them to CARE. These calls, known as “SPD request” in the report, are the most common way the CARE team gets dispatched, followed by dual dispatch, primary dispatch (meaning 911 directed the CARE team to go to a call), and on-views, in which the CARE team witnesses an incident or situation where they can help and self-dispatch by responding in real time.
All of the restrictions in the SPOG contract apply to every kind of CARE response. For example, if CARE first responders saw someone in distress while walking through downtown Seattle, approached, and saw signs the person was using drugs, they would have to walk away and call SPD to the scene. Under the SPOG contract, SPD sergeants can override any 911 operator who decides to dispatch the CARE team to a call. The OIG report doesn’t indicate how often that happens.
Let me be unambiguously clear, as a Seattle resident, I have always thought the CARE department was pure stupidity combined with a love for more bureaucracy.
Unarmed responders and social workers have been killed, INCLUDING IN SEATTLE, when responding to crisis calls.
Pair a social worker and a police officer on each shift and in each precinct, eliminate the CARE department entirely and let’s move on to bigger issues.
You did it! Your lies are unambiguous and clear.
Given the remarkable success in dramatically reducing crime (especially low level crime) and saving boatloads of money with the STAR alternative responder system in Denver, Seattle should mimic their Dispatch Code Triage (see below).
1. The Safety Exclusionary Filters
Before a dispatcher looks at the type of problem, they must process the call through strict safety gates. A call is immediately disqualified from civilian STAR dispatch if any of the following are true:
–Weapons: Mention of firearms, knives, or any objects being used as weapons.
–Violence or Hostility: Active physical violence, immediate threats of violence, or a history of extreme volatility at the location.
–Medical Emergency: Any life-threatening medical situation requiring an emergency lights-and-sirens ambulance response (e.g., severe bleeding, unconsciousness).
–Unclear Danger: Situations where the dispatcher cannot firmly establish that the scene is physically secure.
2. The Eligible STAR Call Codes
If the call passes the safety filters, Denver 911 dispatchers look for specific, pre-approved incident codes flagged in their system:
–Welfare Check: Requests to check on the safety or well-being of an individual who appears vulnerable, disoriented, or exposed to elements.
–Suicidal Series / Mental Health Crisis: Calls involving people experiencing non-violent psychiatric emergencies, depression, panic, or suicidal ideation without active means to harm themselves immediately.
–Intoxicated Person: Individuals who are publicly intoxicated or under the influence of substances but are not combative or in immediate medical danger.
–Trespass / Unwanted Person: Low-level, non-violent property disputes, typically involving individuals seeking shelter or loitering on commercial or residential property.
–Indecent Exposure: Non-predatory, non-aggressive instances often linked to severe mental health struggles or lack of housing.
–Assist / Resource Request: Individuals needing direct assistance with basic human needs, clothing, or shelter coordination.
–Syringe Disposal: Reports of discarded needles or drug paraphernalia requiring safe cleanup and disposal.
3. Triage Decision Tree Outcomes Depending on the answers during the call triage, the dispatcher routes the request into one of three paths:
–Dispatch Outcome
(1)—STAR Only: Fits eligible codes + passes all safety exclusionary filters (low risk). Dispatch 1 Mental Health Clinician + 1 Paramedic (No Police).
(2)—Co-Response: Mental health element present but elevated risk, potential violence, or safety unclear. Dispatch 1 Police Officer + 1 Mental Health Clinician responding together.
(3)—Standard Emergency: Active violence, weapons present, or clear criminal element. Dispatch Denver Police Department (DPD) or EMS.
Hi there, we actually patterned after Denver to begin with — Andrew Dameron, who runs Denver 911, is one of my most important collaborators and has become a good friend. In some ways our Seattle design is superior (CARE responders being integrated city employees), but the contract constraints limit our ability to triage calls the way we know is ideal. Erica did a nice job with this piece again illuminating that reality. Thank you for your knowledge and interest in the space!