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POST names wellness program after Joyce Dudley as UC San Diego pilot reaches 60 agencies
Summary
The Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training recognized a three‑year wellness pilot led by UC San Diego that enrolled 60 law‑enforcement agencies and trained agency wellness coordinators; commissioners voted to name the initiative for former DA Joyce Dudley.
The Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training voted unanimously to name its organizational wellness initiative the Joyce Dudley Wellness Program after a three‑year pilot project run with the University of California San Diego.
The commission adopted the name during its meeting after staff reported that UC San Diego’s program — funded by a special state appropriation — reached the contract goal of 60 participating agencies and created a searchable, statewide resource and training platform for officer wellness.
The pilot began in fiscal 2022–23 under a roughly $5 million special appropriation to POST. UC San Diego and POST designed an agency‑level training program that trained organizational wellness coordinators, created a “7 20 Health” learning platform for individual officers, and offered mentorship and startup grants to agencies building wellness plans. POST staff said the contract hit its enrollment goal in September 2024 and that another 45 agencies are on a waiting list.
“Leadership support is essential,” Dr. Cassandra Beaton, research director with UC San Diego, told the commission. She described a program built around leadership training, preventative wellness and individualized tools for sleep, stress resilience, movement, nutrition and social connection. The platform includes optional wearable monitoring and short daily text prompts intended to measure progress during pilots; UC San Diego plans to publish more complete outcome data in October 2025 after final data analysis.
POST Executive Director Manny Alvarez told commissioners the pilot delivered five cohort presentations of a POST‑certified organizational wellness coordinator course and provided roughly 2,500 hours of mentorship to agency wellness teams. He said the pilot also distributed about $45,000 in small equipment grants (stretch bands, flooring, hydration) to agencies that completed wellness plans.
In a brief discussion before the vote, commissioners and advisory‑committee members urged POST to keep the program affordable and accessible statewide, to provide better communications for participating chiefs and union leaders, and to explore partnerships with risk managers and municipal leadership to expand adoption. Commissioner Gordon urged POST to consider a relaunch and continued outreach so agencies that encountered early technical problems would try the platform again.
POST said the special three‑year contract ends June 30, 2025, but staff told commissioners they expect to continue funding wellness work in some form — likely via shorter contracts and other budget lines — and to publish a vetted list of culturally competent practitioners and subject‑matter resources for officers across the state. The commission voted, by unanimous consent, to name the program for Joyce Dudley, a former Santa Barbara district attorney credited with driving the initiative.
Why it matters: Local agencies and chiefs told commissioners that improving officer wellness reduces long‑term costs such as workers’ compensation and disability, improves recruitment and retention, and can reduce operational risks on the street. POST and UC San Diego said a priority now is converting pilot lessons into durable, lower‑cost services that agencies can adopt statewide.
