In May of 2021, the City of DeSoto was awarded the Dallas County New Directions Public Safety Grant. This grant was created to address the crisis of criminalization, mental health, poverty, and homelessness by utilizing alternatives to police response and incarceration to more appropriately address the needs of Dallas County residents. DeSoto proposed the pilot of a Regional CARE Team composed of Team Lead Police Officers from each identified city, working alongside Care Coordinators, Licensed Social Service Providers, and Victim’s Assistance Coordinators all under one roof.

As a multi-disciplinary group, the Regional CARE Team provides community behavioral health support to individuals and their families. We are a free resource provided by the participating cities (Cedar Hill, DeSoto, Duncanville, Glenn Heights, and Lancaster) for our residents. Our purpose is to assist individuals experiencing behavioral health needs and their families/support systems to access, navigate, understand, and utilize appropriate community referral sources. We do not respond to 9-1-1. Instead, we are here to follow up after a crisis and help in preventing another.