CHICAGO — A citywide program that deploys social workers instead of law enforcement to non-violent mental health calls is expanding to be available earlier in the mornings and later in the evenings, Mayor Brandon Johnson announced Friday.
The Crisis Assistance Response and Engagement (CARE) program, dispatches teams of mental health professionals to certain 911 calls or upon direct request by the caller. The program was launched in 2021 and has steadily expanded since, with its hours initially being from 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday.
As of Friday, those hours will now shift to an 8 a.m.-10 p.m. schedule every weekday, the mayor said during a press conference Friday. The service will still be unavailable on weekends.
“Expanding CARE into the evening means more residents can be met by trained behavioral health professionals who can de-escalate a crisis, provide immediate support, and connect them to the services they need,” Johnson said. “This expansion moves us closer to the ultimate goal of providing a community safety apparatus where the right responder is available for the right situation, while building upon our commitment to providing care over criminalization and strengthening Chicago’s public mental health infrastructure.”
Callers to 911 can request a CARE team or emergency dispatchers can determine when to send a team in specific situations. People experiencing “socio-emotional distress” can also request services, the city said.
CARE teams provide on-site mental health assessments and basic medical care before connecting people to more permanent resources. However, they do not deploy to 911 calls or other incidents if there is a report of a weapon or other violence present.
The expanded hours were made possible by a recent round of hiring and training for the “latest expansion of CARE under the Johnson administration,” according to a press release.
The program has gradually grown in distinct phases since 2021, seeing its largest expansion during Johnson’s administration. CARE responders were accompanied by police officers and fire department paramedics until services were fully placed under the city’s Department of Public Health in 2024 when police and fire personnel were removed from the response teams.
In May, CARE was expanded to all 22 police districts — up from six districts previously. Since then, CARE dispatches increased by 51 percent, according to a report from Borderless.
The program has served over 2,600 people since its launch, Borderless reported.
“Our communities have made clear that they need CARE, and making the program more convenient to access helps meet that demand,” said Ald. Rosanna Rodriguez-Sanchez (33rd), who leads the City Council’s Committee on Health and Human Relations.
Expanding the initiative citywide has been a goal of its backers and the Johnson administration for years. A larger push for non-police mental health responses gained traction nationwide in 2020, following the police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis and other high-profile incidents.
Quinn Myers contributed reporting.
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