About FRBH
Our Vision
A nation where no responder is ever required to ask for help. Behavioral health support is built directly into the system—proactive, competent, consistent, and designed for the long-term demands of public safety work.
Why We Exist
The American Board of First Responder Behavioral Healthcare (FRBH) is the nation’s independent accrediting and credentialing authority for responder behavioral health.
First responders experience trauma differently—chronic, cumulative, and unavoidable. Yet their behavioral health support they receive has long relied on civilian models never designed for high-frequency, high intensity public safety exposure.
FRBH exists to close that gap by establishing one unified national standard that ensures every agency and every professional entrusted with responder care meets the highest benchmark of excellence, cultural alignment, and long-term system readiness.
Our work is grounded in a single principle: The burden should never be on the responder to ask for help—support should be built into the system. FRBH defines what that system must be.
Founder’s Message
I founded FRBH because those who protect our communities deserve more than fragmented programs, short-term interventions, and systems that leave them to navigate trauma on their own.
Serving both in uniform and as a behavioral health executive, I saw firsthand how the current approach fails the very people it’s meant to support. Responder trauma isn’t episodic—it is cumulative, unavoidable, and shaped by the realities of public safety work. Yet most behavioral health systems still rely on civilian models never designed for this environment.
FRBH was created to change that.
Our mission is simple: responder wellness must be a systemic responsibility—not an afterthought, not a patchwork program, and never an individual burden. No responder should have to ask for help; the system should already be built to support them.
Because protecting those who protect us isn’t optional—it’s essential.
- Dr. Kalim Wigfall, DBH
The Need for Standards
Agencies rely on frameworks like NFPA, CALEA, POST Commissions, and SAMHSA for operational and clinical guidance—but no national body has defined what quality behavioral healthcare must look like for trauma-exposed professionals.
Responder behavioral health has lacked:
consistent benchmarks
long-term care expectations
trained, responder-competent clinicians
structure peer-support
accountability for agencies
a unified national model
FRBH fills this void by establishing standards rooted in modern trauma science, cultural competence, and a new career-long model.
Sustained Functional Resilience™—the systems-based organizational framework that forms the foundation of FRBH’s national standards and accreditation programs.
What We Do
Accreditation: We accredit public safety agencies whose behavioral health systems align with the national standards grounded in Sustained Functional Resilience™.
Certification: We certify clinicians, social workers, and peer supporters, and behavioral health professionals who demonstrate verified competence in responder-specific care.
Research & Education: We advance evidence-based practices and training that shape policy, inform standards, and strengthen care across disciplines.
Access Fund: We provide accreditation and training at no or reduced cost to eligible agencies—ensuring financial limitations never stand in the way of responder wellness.
Our Mission
To unify, professionalize, and elevate responder behavioral healthcare nationwide through:
National, measurable, evidence-based standards
Credentialing of responder-competent providers
Accreditation of organizations committed to excellence
Research, education, and policy development
A framework built around career-long resilience and organizational responsibility
Our Structure
FRBH is a nationally organized nonprofit corporation, pending 501(c)(3) determination, responsible for defining and upholding behavioral health standards across public safety.
FRBH Solutions, Inc. is an independent implementation partner providing readiness assessments, training, and systems development to help agencies put the national standards into practice.
Together—while independently governed—FRBH and FRBH Solutions strengthen the nation’s behavioral health infrastructure for responders.
Learn More about FRBH Solutions →
Equity in Excellence: The FRBH Access Fund
Responder behavioral health is a public good. The Access Fund expands accreditation to under-resourced departments—creating equity across communities and ensuring every responder has access to the same quality of care.
Governance & Integrity
FRBH is governed by a national Board of Directors representing behavioral health, public safety, human services, higher education, and organizational leadership. All programs operate under transparent, peer-reviewed standards and continuous quality improvement.
National Reach
Serving all major public safety disciplines
One unified national framework
Nationwide expansion underway
Our Values
Integrity: Fairness, transparency, and accountability
Compassion: Honoring the humanity of those who serve
Excellence: Measurable, evidence-based impact
Equity: Every responder deserves quality care, regardless of resources
Partner With Us
FRBH collaborates with agencies, practitioners, researchers, and policymakers to advance the future of responder behavioral health.