EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — El Paso County Commissioners Court approved an agreement worth up to $513,689 to continue a crisis intervention partnership between the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office and Emergence Health Network.
The Crisis Intervention Team, or CIT, responds to people experiencing a mental health crisis and those with a diagnosed or suspected mental illness or intellectual disability.
Under the program, EHN clinicians co-deploy in the same vehicle with law-enforcement officers when the team is called to a crisis in the community. The officer and clinician work together to de-escalate the situation, screen the individual and determine the appropriate next step.
The response can give people alternatives to being taken to jail or an emergency room.
“It’s very important that the response is strategized, that there is a trained effort, or a trained competent response, so the situations don’t escalate,” Deputy County Administrator Joel Bishop said.
“We’ve saved almost $4 million since its inception, so there is a cost savings to the community,” Chrystal Davis, EHN’s chief operating officer, said. “It’s not only about the cost savings. It’s about serving those individuals in the right setting.”
The newly approved agreement is a renewal of the existing partnership, not an expansion. EHN said the County funding directly supports the clinicians who respond alongside sheriff’s deputies.
The partnership between EHN and the Sheriff’s Office began in April 2021. EHN said the team assisted about 4,000 people between 2021 and August 2025.
EHN also operates a separate crisis intervention partnership with the El Paso Police Department, which began in 2019.
The County’s renewed agreement with EHN begins Oct. 1 and runs through Sept. 30, 2027.
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