Antioch Set to Hire Community Crisis Intervention Response Provider

On Tuesday, the Antioch City Council will discuss accepting a proposal by the Felton Institute to provide non-police community crisis intervention services at a cost of up to $2.2 million per year.

The two-year pilot program, design forecasted by Urban Strategies Council, is estimated to cost between $1.8 and $2.2 million per year. The funding will come from American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and funding has been allocated at $3.6 million. — See RFQ by City of Antioch

The goal is to reduce the impact of the Antioch Police Department where this program focuses on responses to non-violent and non life-threatening response situations—this comes after the city council, in March 2021, directed the city manager to establish a 24-hour health crisis response team for Antioch residents.

The working name of the proposed program is the Antioch Care Team (ACT). The desired impacts of ACT are to:

• Improve the City’s response to behavioral health, quality of life and lower acuity medical calls
  traditionally responded to by police and fire personnel.
• Address non-life threatening medical-related issues in a pre-hospital care setting.
• Build community trust and relationships by connecting Antioch residents to services and supports
  if they want them.
• Reduce unintended consequences, trauma, injury and arrests associated with sworn personnel’s
  response to low level 911 calls in the City of Antioch.

The move also comes as in 2020, 4,142 police calls were service calls for homeless-related or mental health/drug related calls. Of those calls, 1,373 were categorized as potentially low-level calls for service.

It is anticipated that the CART Pilot Program will be contractually managed by the City of Antioch’s newly formed Public Safety and Community Resources Department

Per the Staff Report:

DISCUSSION

On May 25, 2020, the nation witnessed the brutality of the George Floyd incident, which ignited civil-unrest, peaceful demonstrations, and a collective societal cry for police reform. Cities across the country, including the City of Antioch, have been creatively working and developing advanced innovative best practices in local law enforcement and public services that will improve police transparency and accountability. This approach focuses specifically on non-violent and non life-threatening response situations, where a police response is neither needed nor helpful to involved individuals. In such incidents, and based on research, it has been determined that well trained civilians better serve the
public by developing an alternative non-police response.

In March 2021, the City of Antioch City Council immediately acted by directing the City Manager to establish a 24-hour health-crisis response team model program for Antioch residents. The City Council also engaged Antioch residents and community stakeholders in focus groups and direct interviews to better understand their experience with initial police response, the 911 system and aspirations for new, non-police response strategies. The City Council additionally worked with the Antioch Police Department (APD) to complete a “Data Needs Analysis (DNA)” to evaluate and structure the program design.

The Antioch City Manager’s office contracted with the Urban Strategies Council (USC) to develop a program model and pilot initiative for a non-police response to low level 911 calls for service.

In 2020, 4,142 of total police calls for service were either for homelessness-related or mental health/drug related issues. Of these calls, approximately 1,373 were categorized as potentially low-level calls for service. The number of low-level calls for service could have been resolved by civilian, non-police response, which would have reduced the need for an Antioch Police response. In these types of low-level calls for service it is of greater public benefit to have a non-police response, freeing up Antioch police to respond to emergency and urgent calls for service.

In 2021, the operating name of the proposed pilot program was the Antioch Care Team (ACT). Recently, in order to alleviate any confusion, it has been determined that the Antioch Care Team name be changed to the Crisis Antioch Response Team (CART).

The desired impacts of the CART Pilot Program are to: reduce non-warrant arrests that result during 911 police response; reduce the number of individuals transported to the emergency department for non-life threatening issues; and reduce the number of behavioral health and lower acuity calls.

The purpose for CART is to provide community-focused, trauma-informed, and healing- centered call responses by well-trained non-police personnel who can increase impacted individuals’ access and connection to timely, appropriate, and safe community-based services and resources. It is anticipated that the CART Pilot Program will be contractually managed by the City of Antioch’s newly formed Public Safety and Community Resources Department. CART personnel will also work closely with the Antioch Police Department, County, Fire and EMS personnel. The overarching goal of the CART Pilot Program is to provide residents with a non-police response that allows police to both focus on and respond to major crimes, emergency response and criminal matters.

The CART Pilot Program is expected to operate for a minimum pilot period of two years.

The solicitation period for RFQ No. 030722 opened on March 7, 2022 and closed on April 6, 2022. Two bidders responded which are the Hume Center of Concord, CA and the Felton Institute of Alameda, CA. Written proposals and two rounds of interviews are the basis for the final ranking of providers. The Felton Institute has been identified as the number one ranked vendor through the solicitation process.

Antioch City Council Meeting

• Tuesday, October 25, 2022
• 6:30 pm closed session
• 7:00 pm regular meeting
• 200 H Street, Antioch CA
• City Council Agenda: Click here