The city of Madison’s Community Alternative Response Emergency Services program will begin offering weekend service from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sept. 16, according to a press release from the Madison Fire Department.

The city of Madison implemented the Madison CARES program in 2021 to handle non-violent behavioral health emergencies more effectively.

Madison CARES teams are composed of a paramedic from the Madison Fire Department and a crisis worker from Journey Mental Health who respond to non-violent behavioral health emergencies reported to the Dane County Public Safety Communications Center, according to the press release.

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The program was inspired by other forms of successful patient-focused programs around the U.S. including the Support Team Assisted Response in Denver and Crisis Assistance Helping Out On The Streets in Oregon.

The program responds to all types of calls — 20% of them are categorized as welfare checks, according to Madison Fire Department Assistant Chief of EMS Operations Ché Stedman. The department determined around half of these calls were attributed to mental health issues.

Stedman said Madison CARES focuses on ensuring the correct response to mental health related crises on a case-by-case basis rather than responding to every individual with law enforcement. The program aims to divert people away from emergency rooms and jails when experiencing a crisis related to mental health.

Stedman also said community response to the Madison CARES program has generally been positive.

“We’ve had plenty of constructive feedback around best practice,” Stedman said. “In other words, how we operate, the fact that we put our employees in civilian clothing to make their response look softer.”

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To date, the Madison CARES program has responded to more than 3,200 calls since Sept. 2021. Initially, the pilot phase of the program was available between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. from Monday through Friday in downtown Madison and consisted of only two Madison CARES teams. Now, the program has expanded and will be responding to calls from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week beginning Sept. 16.

Stedman said the next expansion of the program will include an additional Madison CARES team working during the 911 center’s peak hours.