GO TEAM® Co-Response

The cornerstone of our approach: a 24/7 child-focused co-response model pairing social service professionals with law enforcement officers.

Origins & Purpose

The cornerstone of our approach is the GO TEAM® co-response model, launched over 20 years ago in Providence, Rhode Island and now statewide. Family Service of Rhode Island created the GO TEAM® understanding that, during the course of their everyday work, police officers are significantly more likely than most other professionals to encounter children in the midst of acute trauma exposure, most often on-scene, as victims of abuse, neglect, trafficking, or family, school or community violence. 
Further, police officers often find themselves called to the same homes interacting with the same trauma-exposed children over and over again. Given that police officers are primarily charged with investigating crime and quickly apprehending suspects, often under dangerous circumstances, we developed a new kind of compassionate co-response focused on children in partnership with local law enforcement.

The program has served thousands of children over the years and received numerous local and national awards, including the national Mutual of America Community Partnership Merit Award, and the national Met Life Foundation Community Policing Partnership Award.

GO TEAM® is now under independent evaluation with Thriving Together, LLC and Lynch Research Associates with impressive initial findings.

Survey results from 170 Rhode Island police officers will be shared soon.

When GO TEAM® Responds

GO TEAM® staff most often respond to calls involving:

  • Domestic/Intimate partner violence
  • Suspected abuse or neglect of children
  • Child welfare removals
  • Suspected youth sex trafficking
  • Runaways/Waywards
  • Narcotics/Gun/Intelligence raids where children are likely to be present
  • Parents likely to be arrested with children on scene
  • Homicides or other violent crimes witnessed by children
  • Suicide of a family member
  • Incidents of violence in school or the community
  • Kidnapping
  • Sexual Assault
  • Online victimization/exploitation

On-scene, GO TEAM® staff provide:

  • Crisis intervention and stabilization to ensure young people are able to cooperate with police and receive as needed medical attention
  • Safety planning
  • Emotional support
  • Developmentally appropriate trauma counseling
  • Basic needs assistance, including short-term emergency hotel stays, food, clothing, baby care items, etc.
  • Psycho education for caregivers
  • Language interpretation
  • Assistance understanding the investigative process
  • Accompaniment for emergency medical care, law enforcement interviews, forensic interviews, etc.
  • Triaging with the child welfare authority, and other community providers to meet immediate needs
  • Victims and witnesses of violent crime and children exposed to trauma

Client Success Story

Amber Mercer
Once a survivor herself, Amber Mercer now serves as a peer survivor specialist at Family Service Rhode Island’s (FSRI) Survivor Support Program, helping others find safety, stability, and hope. Years ago, when Amber was in an abusive relationship, she met Rachel, a member of FSRI’s GO TEAM®, a co-response program pairing social workers with Providence Police officers. Rachel’s compassion made Amber feel seen, planting a seed for change even before she was ready to leave. After a violent assault led to her husband’s arrest, FSRI’s GO TEAM® helped Amber rebuild her life with her two children. Today, Amber empowers others through the same program that once helped her heal. “The GO TEAM® is changing how we respond to trauma,” she says. “They actually care, and I say that from genuine experience.”

In the days and weeks (and sometimes years) that follow, GO TEAM® staff provide wraparound aftercare for the whole family, including:

Assistance obtaining restraining orders
Assistance navigating the criminal justice process
Case updates
Assistance accessing crime victim compensation
Linkage to evidence-based child/family trauma treatments
Accompaniment for legal proceedings
Assistance retrieving evidence 
Connection to peer supports
The program has served thousands of children over the years and received numerous local and national awards, including numerous National Child Traumatic Stress Initiative awards, the national Mutual of America Community Partnership Merit Award, and the national Met Life Foundation Community Policing Partnership Award. 

GO TEAM® is now under independent evaluation with Thriving Together, LLC and Lynch Research Associates with impressive initial findings.

The TIP Center is offering GO TEAM® replication assistance to police and other first responder agencies, as well as community-based mental health and social service agencies, across the United States. 

Survey results from 170 Rhode Island police officers will be shared soon.

Findings from GO TEAM® Evaluation from a Recent Research Study 

Study Conducted by Thriving Together & Lynch Research Associates during September 2025

Families overwhelmingly endorsed the GO TEAM® 

Over 92% of the families we surveyed reported that the GO TEAM® were friendly, did a good job, and helped them feel safe.

96% of families said they would recommend working with the GO TEAM® to others in their community.

96% endorsed the item, “The GO TEAM® helped me feel more comfortable calling police if I needed to in the future.”

Police Officers survey ratings of experience with the GO TEAM® are illustrated on the following slide.

About 20% of respondents reported an increase from no/minimal knowledge, to moderate/high knowledge