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Waco officials highlight behavioral-health collaboration; request continued funding as crisis metrics improve
Summary
City staff and Prosper Waco reviewed outcomes from multi‑agency behavioral‑health initiatives, said emergency‑detention response times and officer hours have fallen, and asked council to consider continued local funding while coordinating new state appropriations.
Assistant City Manager Ryan Holt and Jessica Addis, CEO of Prosper Waco, told the Waco City Council Tuesday that the city’s multi‑agency behavioral‑health work is reducing crisis response burdens on police and improving access to care, and they requested continued local funding to sustain the effort.
Holt and Addis said the city invests in several programs: a three‑year Behavioral Health Leadership Team (BHLT) agreement (year one was $200,000), a $3 million ARPA contribution to the crisis center that opened in May 2024, funding for reintegration coordination and medical‑clearance capacity, and ongoing support for the Behavioral Health Network.
Why it matters: City and nonprofit leaders said coordinated investment and data sharing are cutting police time on emergency‑detention cases and diverting many calls to behavioral‑health responses, freeing officers for other duties and reducing costs for taxpayers.
Reported outcomes and metrics Holt presented trend data showing high points around 2019–2021, when suicide‑in‑progress calls and emergency detention orders peaked and officer hours spent on those calls rose sharply. He said the average length of those calls fell from 11.52 hours (peak years) to about 3.5 hours in 2024 and that the total officer hours devoted to emergency‑detention responses dropped from a multi‑thousand‑hour peak.
Holt described several program-specific investments and impacts (figures given to council): - BHLT first‑year local support: $200,000 (first year of a three‑year funding plan). - ARPA investment for crisis center: $3,000,000; crisis center opened May 2024. - Reintegration roundtable: historically about $65,000 per year. - Medical‑clearance capacity tied to the crisis center: $80,000 per year. - Emergency‑detention transport costs (previous tracking): roughly $117,000 annual average. - Early diversion work: the police department’s dispatch‑diversion program, started Feb. 2024, has diverted over 1,000 calls; about half of diverted calls required some police follow-up but many did not require a full police response.
Prosper Waco work and new state dollars Jessica Addis described BHLT as a cross‑sector, data‑driven coalition that has convened steering and action teams, established data‑sharing agreements, and helped secure new state funding. She said aligned advocacy helped obtain a $5,000,000 state appropriation; Prosper Waco will coordinate with state officials (HHSC) and local partners to allocate those dollars to priorities identified in a behavioral‑needs assessment.
City leaders and council members praised the partnerships and noted the work reduces officer time in emergency rooms and long transports, improves medical clearance at diversion sites and supports jail‑discharge care coordination.
Next steps Council will consider a second‑year funding item for the BHLT on the evening agenda. No formal appropriation was adopted during the Aug. 19 work session; staff said they will return with requests and more granular allocation plans tied to the behavioral‑needs assessment and the incoming state appropriation.
Ending Council members commended the cross‑sector approach and said the early metrics justify continued investment in coordinated behavioral‑health services.
