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Co-Responder
Salary
$70,428.00 - $101,388.00 Annually
Location
Boulder County, CO
Job Type
Full-time
Job Number
6826(CR2)
Department
Community Services
Division
CSD Strategic Initiatives
Opening Date
07/22/2026
Closing Date
8/5/2026 11:59 PM Mountain
FLSA
Exempt
- Description
- Benefits
- Questions
Description
Boulder County Community Services Department is seeking to hire a Co-Responder. The purpose of the Co-Responder position is to support law enforcement on mental health calls for service in Lafayette. When possible, Co-Responders divert individuals with behavioral health disorders or symptoms from involvement in the criminal justice system and instead engage them in treatment. Co-Responders manage crisis intervention, de-escalation, and referral to treatment at the scene of police contact. They provide resources and follow-up when not on scene. Co-Responders manage follow-up with community members to connect them with resources and behavioral health treatment after crisis has concluded.
This is a full-time, benefited position that will work Sunday - Wednesday 12:00pm - 10:00pm. This position will work out of 451 N 111th St, Lafayette, Colorado. Under Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) guidelines, this position is exempt.
Boulder County requires its employees to reside in the state of Colorado as of the first day of work.
Hiring Salary Range: $70,428.00 - $85,908.00 Annually
Tentative Hiring Timeline:
- Phone Screening: Week of August 10th
- First Round Interviews: Week of August 17th
- Second Round Interviews: Week of August 24th
- Language Proficiency Test (if applicable): Week of August 31st
- Reference Check: Week of August 24th
New employees receive an 80-hour bank of vacation at the time of hire, in addition to 8 hours of both vacation and medical leave accruals each month (Must not have been employed at Boulder County during the 12 months prior to re-hire date to qualify). Boulder County offers bountiful benefits, including pension contributions.
Boulder County employees may qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF). Visit studentaid.gov for more information.
Examples of Duties
- Provides mobile response to a variety of community settings upon law enforcement request, including homes, street corners, offices, assisted living facilities, and shelters
- Conducts mental status exam, suicide, and risk assessment to determine if people in distress meet criteria for involuntary treatment
- Ensures that adequate time is spent with each community member to ensure accuracy of assessments
- Makes appropriate level of care decisions on scene and communicates and collaborates with and creates relationships with multiple collateral agencies, including schools, hospitals, family members and significant others to facilitate referrals for needed community-based services and treatment
- Conducts telephone follow ups and interventions with community members as needed
- Documents all phone and face-to-face contacts and supplies documentation consistent with clinical and administrative policies and procedures and research related to the provision of services
- Attends monthly team meetings and clinical supervision
- Accept referrals from law enforcement for case management and broker service delivery to community members
- Performs related work, as required
- May be reassigned during emergency situations
Required Qualifications
PLEASE NOTE: When completing your application describe all relevant education and experience, as applications are assessed based on the required qualifications listed. Resumes and other attachments are not accepted in lieu of completed applications and will not be reviewed in the initial screening process. Any personally identifiable information (PII) such as name and address will be redacted from applications that meet the minimum screening requirements and are forwarded to the hiring manager. If the hiring manager selects you to advance in the hiring process, your attachments will then be shared with the hiring team.
EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE:
Boulder County is looking for well qualified candidates to fill our positions. Any combination of relevant education and experience is encouraged. In this position, we are looking for a minimum of:
- Bachelor's degree in counseling, social work, or psychology
AND
- 2 (two) years of experience in motivational interviewing, crisis counseling, verbal de-escalation, working with diverse and at-risk populations, community networking and resource delivery
DRIVERS LICENSE:
- Applicants must have a valid drivers license and a clean driving record
- For more information regarding a clean driving record, please click here.
BACKGROUND CHECK & FINGERPRINTING:
- A job offer is contingent on passing a background investigation with fingerprinting
SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:
- Applicants must demonstrate Microsoft Office (i.e. Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook) proficiency at the time of the pre-employment screening process
Supplemental Information
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
Bilingual in English and Spanish
Spanish language proficiency will be determined through standardized verbal/verbal and written demonstration. (tier 3, verbal and written)
Additional compensation will be provided based on the use of bilingual skills.
Related behavioral health experience in non-traditional modalities
Experience working and collaboration with law enforcement officials
Licensed or License-eligible LPC, LMFT, LCSW or Psychologist
Certified Addiction Counselor I, II, III or LAC
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, & ABILITIES:
- Be culturally responsive with the ability to work with various identities in an inclusive and nonjudgmental fashion
- Ability to effectively develop and sustain cooperative and collaborative working relationships, demonstrating sound judgment, diplomacy, and tact
- Demonstrated skill in fostering effective and strategic relationships with diverse stakeholders including mental health professionals, law enforcement, medical first responders and community partners
- Demonstrated skill in motivational interviewing, crisis management and verbal de-escalation
- Significant skill in facilitating discussions in high-risk/high-conflict environment while working with law enforcement
- Ability to coach others to foster positive relationships, negotiate effectively, resolve conflicts, and otherwise manage difficult situations
- Demonstrated skills in working with individuals in crisis, experiencing mental health related symptoms and substance abuse addiction
- Excellent organization, analytical and problem-solving skills
- Ability to be a valuable team player who has excellent follow-through
- Thorough knowledge of best practices, methods for high quality case management and an understanding of the co-responding model
- Excellent oral and written communication skills
Boulder County is a workplace dedicated to supporting individuals and families of all types and to fostering a diverse, inclusive, and respectful environment for all employees. We prohibit unlawful discrimination against applicants and employees on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, socio-economic status, sexual orientation, genetic information, or any other status protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.
As well as offering competitive pay and a caring work environment, Boulder County offers employees an array of benefits. For all FTE and Term employees, we provide:
- Outstanding options of comprehensive health plans that include vision and dental coverage. Information can be found HERE.
- Additional Benefits can be found HERE.
- Including:
- Family-forming benefits- infertility treatment, adoption and surrogacy reimbursements
- 12 weeks Paid Caregiver leave
- Breast feeding friendly-work environment
- Sick child care, an infants-at-work policy
- Access to LifeMart discount hub, including discounts on childcare centers, event tickets, travel and more!
- Access to a nationally-recognized wellness program
- Employee Assistance Program
- PERA 401k
- Social Security retirement plans
- Additional Life and Disability Insurance
- Critical Illness and Accidental Insurance
- County-paid tuition assistance
- Eligible for PSLF- Public Service Loan Forgiveness
- Free EcoPass
- Hospital Indemnity
- ID Theft Protection
- Pet Insurance
- 8 Hours of Paid Public Service Leave
Generous paid time off
- Holidays
- New Years Day January 1
- Martin Luther Kings Birthday January
- Presidents Day February
- Memorial Day May
- Juneteenth June 19
- Independence Day July 4
- Labor Day September
- Indigenous Peoples Day
- General Election Day November (first Tuesday after the first Monday, even years)
- Veterans Day November 11
- Thanksgiving Day November
- Friday after Thanksgiving*
- Christmas Eve- ½ day (full day off depends on day of the week)
- Christmas Day December 25
- New Year's Eve- ½ day (full day off depends on day of the week)
Vacation
- 80-hour bank of vacation at the time of hire
- Eight hours of vacation per month for the first year of continuous service, then accrue twelve hours of vacation per month after the first year of continuous service.
Medical
- Eight hours of medical leave for each month employed.
PERA- The County and all employees pay into both Social Security and PERA
- Employer contribution to Social Security: 7.65% of salary
- Employer contribution to PERA (Local Government Division- most county employees: 14.76%
- The District Attorney's Office observe Francis Xavier Cabrini Day on the first Monday in October and omit the Friday after Thanksgiving
Vacation and Medical leave are based off of full time FTE accruals. Part-time FTE/term employees accrue leave based on the percentage of time they work.
01
Do you have a valid drivers license and clean driving record? (Required)
02
Do you have a Bachelor's degree in counseling, social work, or psychology? (Required)
03
Please describe how you meet the minimum requirement of 2 (two) years of experience in motivational interviewing, crisis counseling, verbal de-escalation, working with diverse and at-risk populations, community networking and resource delivery.
04
Describe your experience working with diverse populations.
05
Describe any experience you have providing or support behavioral health services.
06
Describe any experience being in a leadership role on a team.
07
Describe initiatives involving work that has improved team function, cohesion and practice.
08
How would you improve wellness and team engagement?
09
One of our guiding values is around Inclusion. We value, respect, and support all individuals by being an inclusive, culturally responsive county government. What do you perceive as a challenge when working with a diverse workforce?
10
What efforts have you made, or been involved with, to foster diversity concordance and cultural understanding?
Required Question
Employer Boulder County
Address 2025 14th Street
Boulder, Colorado, 80302
Phone 303-441-3525
Website http://www.bouldercounty.org