Stanislaus County plan calls for more mental health specialists to work with police

Jul. 13—Agencies in Stanislaus County are budgeting for more mental health specialists to assist police with certain 911 calls.

The Modesto Police Department plans to create an additional Community Health and Assistance Team (CHAT), which uses trained outreach specialists to respond to 911 calls for mental health crises or similar noncriminal or nonviolent incidents.

Reinstatement of a mobile crisis response team, in which behavioral health specialists respond with police officers trained in crisis intervention, is another item in the community corrections partnership budget for the fiscal year that began July 1.

County supervisors on Tuesday approved the plan, which combines efforts of the Sheriff's Department, Modesto police, the county Probation Department, Behavioral Health and Recovery Services and other departments.

The annual planning stems from the 2011 public safety realignment in California, which made counties responsible for managing the state's less violent criminal population.

According to the plan, mental health specialists can assist police with distressed individuals experiencing symptoms of mental illness and reduce the number of people entering the criminal justice system.

The CCP budget for 2022-23 includes funding for a crisis mobile unit under BHRS. Two emergency medical technicians working with mental health specialists will respond with law enforcement to calls involving mental illness or related issues.

The plan includes $200,000 for the EMTs and funding for two mental health specialists for the crisis mobile unit.

County board Chairman Terry Withrow said the state has come through with realignment funding for the county over the past 10 years or so. About $1.55 million in growth funding is projected for 2022-23.

The Stanislaus County plan for this year has $38.5 million in expenditures, supported by $29.6 million in projected revenue and use of $8.86 million in fund balance.

An executive committee including officials from local government, law enforcement and the court makes recommendations for the annual plan.

Approval of the community corrections plan does not eliminate the normal budget process for county departments to get the Board of Supervisors'OK for individual projects.

Modesto police Chief Brandon Gillespie said the city started CHAT with four outreach workers funded through the American Rescue Plan Act. The department has had success in diverting mental health-related calls to the outreach team, freeing officers to handle criminal incidents, he said.

The chief said the department hopes to expand the CHAT program to seven days a week. The community corrections plan approved Tuesday has funding for 14 additional positions for CHAT.

Ramon Rodriguez, who spoke about police-community relations, told supervisors the use of outreach teams should be promoted to the public as an alternative to calling police. "Police are not mental health workers," he said.

County Supervisor Vito Chiesa clarified that people reporting incidents won't be bypassing the 911 system. The outreach team responds to qualifying calls received through the 911 communications center.

Chiesa said this type of program needs to be expanded to Ceres and Turlock. "This is important and it will be a priority for me to make sure Turlock gets involved," he said.

Rehab programs for offenders

The plan also recommends funding for rehabilitation of convicted offenders. It calls for adding four deputies in the county jail to give inmates more time outside their cells for recreation and other activities.

Two other deputy positions could assist inmates who struggle with mental illness. The assistance would include daily activities and working alongside a clinician to help them obtain housing after release from jail.

The plan includes $150,000 for county BHRS to contract with a program coordinator, who would research whether a program like Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles would be viable in Stanislaus County.

Ruben Imperial, who oversaw county BHRS until recently, said there's a need for a community-based program building a support network for people released from incarceration who need job skills training, intervention services and case management. At the moment, "we don't see a local organization that can take on this role," Imperial said.

Other budget items in the community corrections plan include:

— $1 million for construction of outdoor recreation space at the county Public Safety Center.

— More than $2.5 million for equipping a welding shop and automotive training center, plus instructors for the vocational programs.

— $2 million in upgrades to the adult probation department offices on 11th Street in Modesto to replace decades-old carpet, workstations and furnishings. The department hopes to create a better work environment for employees and more pleasant office setting for probationers and their families.

This story was originally published July 13, 202211:19 AM.

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