Building Smarter Emergency Response: Portland’s Path Toward Alternative Solutions

With a growing need to reduce the burden on its 911 systems and personnel coupled with a growing desire to provide better service to citizens, local governments and communities are rethinking how to deliver both emergency and nonemergency response — and Mission Critical Partners (MCP) is helping pave the way.

Alternative response is a concept that increasingly is gaining traction within the public-safety sector, especially the 911 community. It is estimated that 911 centers across the United States handle 240 million calls for emergency service each year. But tens of thousands of those calls do not require response from law enforcement, fire/rescue, or emergency medical services (EMS) agencies.

Consequently, communities from coast to coast are looking for ways to deal with such calls to deliver the appropriate response faster, lessen the strain on 911 centers and their personnel, decrease risk for emergency-response personnel, and, most importantly, save more lives and keep communities safer.

To this end, for example, city of Portland (Oregon) officials hired MCP to conduct a comprehensive call-allocation study aimed at identifying opportunities for nontraditional response strategies. The result was a 10-point strategy that emphasized triage, coordination, and improved caller outcomes. A point of emphasis was the more than 60 contact numbers creating unintended confusion for the public concerning when to call 911 versus other services, such as 311. MCP worked closely with city stakeholders to untangle the “spaghetti bowl,” and create a clearer, more efficient response framework.

A key recommendation was to establish a new model — the Community Services Response Network (CSRN), which is tailored to Portland’s unique resources and needs —to establish a path forward for integrating alternative responders like community paramedics and crisis clinicians, to reduce overreliance on police, fire/rescue, and EMS for low-risk incidents. Central to the strategy is the three Rs — respond, resolve, and restore — so that each call results in the right resources, at the right time, to the right place. By laying this groundwork, Portland can optimize its emergency-response system while improving service equity, efficiency, and trust in public safety.

Meanwhile, as public expectations pertaining to behavioral-health response continue to evolve, the state of Maine is leading the way in reimagining how 911 and 988 services work together. With MCP’s support, Maine has become an example for the rest of the country regarding how thoughtful facilitation, strong interagency coordination, and policy alignment can create a more compassionate and effective crisis-response ecosystem.

The state initially engaged MCP to help define how its 911 centers and the Maine Crisis Line (988) could coordinate more effectively. Through a series of facilitated discussions, MCP subject-matter experts helped Maine officials establish shared policies, referral pathways, and training standards to guide when and how calls should transfer between 911 and 988. These guidelines now serve as the foundation for statewide training and ongoing collaboration.

Building on this success, MCP has expanded its support to include strategic planning with Maine’s Office of Behavioral Health and technical assistance for the state’s 988 provider. This work includes designing pilot programs that demonstrate the benefits of coordinated response and encouraging wider adoption across 911 centers statewide.

Maine’s story illustrates that alternative response is not just about launching new programs — it’s about aligning systems, policies, and people. As other states look to improve behavioral-health outcomes, Maine’s blueprint — developed with MCP’s guidance — shows what’s possible when 911 and 988 leaders come to the table together.

Let’s chat.

Bonnie Maney is manager of MCP’s 911 operations domain. Email her at BonnieManey@MissionCriticalPartners.com.