Kennedy School offers technical assistance for alternative 911 emergency response

The Government Performance Lab at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government on May 7 released an application for technical assistance as part of the lab’s inaugural Alternative 911 Emergency Response implementation cohort.

As reported by the Center for American Progress, jurisdictions across the country are testing new approaches to reducing reliance on traditional law enforcement and medical 911 responses and creating more equitable outcomes for communities of color and others disproportionately impacted by the criminal justice system.

In order to help accelerate implementation efforts, the Government Performance Lab is offering 12 months of technical assistance to a select cohort of local government or county jurisdictions piloting the dispatch of alternative 911 emergency response teams in lieu of traditional law enforcement, fire or emergency medical staff response.

Who may apply? Any local government entity that is committed to actively piloting or is within a year of launching an alternative 911 emergency response team of trained unarmed responders to handle 911 calls.

Grants recipients should expect 12 months of real-time implementation assistance on program planning and launch support, with ongoing facilitated learning between participating cohort jurisdictions.

To apply, complete and submit a first round application by the end of day on May 28. The application should take no more than an hour to complete.

Interested parties may register for a free optional webinar scheduled for May 21 at 3 p.m.