Chicago’s Crisis Assistance Response and Engagement (CARE) program responds to 911 calls involving individuals experiencing a mental health or substance use-related crisis. The City has continued to scale up operations since the first on-the-ground team was launched in September 2021. Early in his tenure, Mayor Brandon Johnson committed to expanding the CARE program for two reasons: alternate response directly supports his “Treatment Not Trauma” policy priority, and the work is an element of his “People’s Plan for Community Safety.”