WASPC has awarded $636,986.40 for the Vancouver Police Department to continue partnering with Sea Mar and expand field-based callout responses to mental health and crisis calls.
Last year, WASPC provided $314,917 for the Vancouver Police Department to establish a pilot program, and Sea Mar added three full-time mental health responder positions to assist police with crisis calls weekdays noon to 8 p.m. This year, we will add three more mental health responders to expand availability for police callouts weekdays 8 a.m. to midnight so that we can connect even more individuals with treatment and services. (Vancouver was first awarded this competitive grant in 2019, but deployment was put on hold as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.)
The Vancouver Police Department works closely with Sea Mar and a robust network of regional stakeholders to promote arrest diversion and alternatives to justice system involvement. Law enforcement is the first responder for many individuals in crisis, and we are glad for this opportunity to partner with crisis-trained mental health professionals who are uniquely equipped to assist police officers with crisis calls in the field. Providing timely access to mental health evaluation and treatment will contribute to longer-term safety and success for many of our most vulnerable community members. As the program is fully implemented, we anticipate reducing crisis escalation and justice system involvement in favor of more appropriate behavioral health care and treatment services.
This grant will double system capacity to assist law enforcement officers in the field with emergency calls involving individuals in crisis, enhancing early intervention and arrest diversion while improving individual health and safety outcomes. Sea Mar will retain three full-time mental health responder positions and add three more staff positions to assist law enforcement officers in the field with emergency calls involving individuals in crisis. When the new positions are filled later this year, we anticipate 15-minute callout response times to police requests for assistance sixteen hours every weekday, 8 a.m. to midnight. Sea Mar will provide two shifts, each staffed with two Mental Health Professionals and one Certified Peer Counselor, Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to midnight.
Once a scene is safe, mental health field response teams are able to respond to callouts in the community at the request of law enforcement officers already at that location. Sea Mar mental health professionals are specially trained to provide a clinical evaluation in the field to provide safety planning and assessment, determine the most appropriate level of care, and connect individuals with treatment and services. The goal of this on-call field-based intervention is to connect individuals with more effective treatment alternatives than incarceration or hospitalization. After the scene is safe and legal requirements are met, police officers may transition the call to mental health crisis team responders for evaluation and care while law enforcement officers can leave and respond to other emergency calls.
This year, we also propose to extend WASPC Mental Health Field Co-Responder Crisis Team services to two new law enforcement agencies, the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs Police Department and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad Police Department. Each of these law enforcement agencies serves unique communities and jurisdictions in Southwest Washington that bring new challenges and opportunities. We are glad for the opportunity to extend mental health crisis response services to assist these police officers with 911 calls involving persons in crisis, provide officer training, engage proactive outreach, and promote arrest diversion within these two new law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve.
The City of Vancouver will continue to serve as the lead agency and fiscal agent to provide leadership, project management and operational support for this regional multi-disciplinary project. Vancouver will coordinate grant reporting and reimbursement with Sea Mar for eligible grant expenses associated with six full-time positions, up to a maximum of $632,986.40.
The grant also includes $4,000 which may be used for staff training in crisis intervention and best practices in order to enhance access to treatment and services for individuals in crisis.
In addition to the patrol-based callouts for mental health professionals described above, the Vancouver Police Department will partner with Sea Mar mental health field responders to provide proactive outreach, establish positive ongoing relationships, assist with safety planning, and connect community members with resources and support before a crisis occurs.
We are fortunate that WASPC has selected our community to receive this competitive funding award to expand the mental health field co-responder crisis team. The new contract is effective July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2022. While no cash match or retention funding is required, we will begin sustainability planning discussions with Sea Mar and our regional partner agencies and stakeholders soon.