Rural areas often face gaps in behavioral health resources, with limited availability and the need to travel long distances to access services. To address such challenges, innovative strategies, such as police deflection programs, help connect people in rural areas to treatment without an arrest. In order to advance understanding of rural deflection programs, we conducted a mixed-methods process evaluation of a rural state police-led deflection program, the Southern Illinois Community Engagement Response Team (SI CERT), serving seven counties. We examined who the program reached, how it was implemented in practice, and how collaboration among partners supported or constrained its goals. As part of the evaluation, we explored feedback from the program leadership team, which included deflection staff, law enforcement, and social service providers. We interviewed all 11 team members, and seven completed a collaboration survey. We found leadership team members supported the program and agreed that it was helping the community by referring individuals to supportive services. Program data showed that 223 participants were referred to the program; 66% voluntarily agreed to participate, and of those, 59% were referred to services. However, team members cited notable challenges, including limited resources, the composition of the leadership team, law enforcement engagement, and community visibility. Nonetheless, in its three years of development, the SI CERT program appears to hold promise in helping rural community members with substance use disorders. Future research can extend the scope of evaluation by incorporating participant perspectives and measuring program outcomes.