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Police department to replace partial-year DMH grants with full-year awards for crisis-intervention and diversion positions
Summary
The finance committee was told Department of Mental Health partial-year grant entries (originally $55,000 and $10,000) will be replaced with full-year contracts — $301,000 and $50,000 — to fund crisis intervention training, technical assistance and veil diversion staff; councilors asked for reporting data and documentation on grant uses.
The police department told the finance committee it will withdraw earlier partial-year entries for two Department of Mental Health grants and submit replacement items reflecting full-year awards. Director Wisdom said the DMH initially provided quarter-year amounts in Legistar (55,000 and 10,000), but the city has now received the full-year contracts and will resubmit items that reflect $301,000 and $50,000 for the programs.
"Since then, in the most impressive turnaround I've ever seen, we have already received, the contract for the full year," Director Wisdom said, noting the larger full-year figures will replace the partial entries so the committee does not have to vote twice.
Staff described the largest DMH portion as funding three positions on a core team — deputy director, project assistant and coordination of law-enforcement partnerships — and operating expenses for a Crisis Intervention Training and Technical Assistance Center. The veil diversion award covers a clinical coordinator position; Wisdom said the $50,000 request would cover about 60% of that position's salary.
Councilors asked for quarterly grant reports and data on behavioral-health-related calls and responses with trained CIT officers, and one councilor asked how these grants intersect with restorative-justice work previously proposed. Director Wisdom said he would provide grant documents, reporting templates and follow-up information on restorative-justice connections.
