DATE: January 30, 2024
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Assistant City Manager
SUBJECT: Adopt a Resolution Authorizing the City Manager to Accept and Appropriate $709,000 in Grant Funding from the Office of Justice Programs – Byrne Discretionary Community Project Funding Program for the Hayward Evaluation and Response Teams (HEART) Program Operations
RECOMMENDATION
That the City Council adopts a resolution (Attachment II) authorizing the City Manager to accept and appropriate $709,000 in grant funding to Fund 220 from the Office of Justice Programs – Byrne Discretionary Community Project Funding Program to support ongoing operations for the Hayward Evaluation and Response Teams (HEART) pilot program.
SUMMARY
In March 2023, staff applied for the Byrne Discretionary Community Project Fund/Byrne Discretionary Grants Program through the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) to support continued operations and personnel of the Hayward Evaluation and Response Teams (HEART) pilot program. In August 2023, the OJP awarded the City of Hayward with $709,000 to be spent between October 2023 through June 2025.
Council approval is requested to authorize the City Manager to accept and appropriate this $709,000 award from OJP’s Byrne Discretionary Grants Program to continue the important work of improving the City’s capacity to respond to people experiencing mental illness, substance use disorders, and homelessness.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
The HEART program was originally developed from recommendations made by the Public Safety Policy Innovation Workshops that took place in Spring 2021 following deep engagement with the community about public safety and policing in Hayward. Updates on the Public Safety Policy Innovation Workshop Projects can be found here: Public Safety Project Implementation.
The HEART program is a cross-departmental and inter-agency program between the City Manager’s Office, Police and Fire Departments, and Alameda County Behavioral Health Care Services developed to improve access to medical, mental health, and other support services. HEART aims to achieve two main goals:
Reduce the need for police officers to intervene in calls for service involving people experiencing chronic mental illness, substance use disorders, and homelessness; and
Reduce reliance on emergency services for individuals needing long-term case management and follow-up services.
On December 5, 2023, staff provided Council an update on the HEART program and how it has evolved in response to community needs since its inception in the Public Safety Policy Innovation Workshop. In its current iteration, the HEART Program consists of three distinct co-responder teams which include:
The Mobile Integrated Health Unit (MIHU) which includes Hayward Fire Department Community Paramedics to provide medical attention to those experiencing homelessness, mental health issues, and/or substance use.
The Hayward Mobile Evaluation Team (HMET) which pairs the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) trained Hayward Police Officers with behavioral health clinicians from the Alameda County Behavioral Health Care Services to address active crises.
Case Management & Mental Health Linkages Team (LINK) which includes a Behavioral Health Coordinator, Lead Program Assistant, and Mobile Mental Health Clinicians that receive referrals from HMET and MIHU and provide ongoing follow-up and connect those in need with resources available countywide.
In March 2023, staff applied for the Byrne Discretionary Community Project Fund/Byrne Discretionary Grants Program through the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) to support continued operations and personnel of the HEART Program. In August 2023, the OJP awarded the City of Hayward with $709,000 to be spent between October 2023 through June 2025. Staffing transitions delayed the request to accept and appropriate these funds, so staff are now bringing this resolution to Council.
The purpose of Byrne Discretionary Grant is to provide funding for community projects to improve the functioning of the criminal justice system, to prevent or combat juvenile delinquency, and to assist victims of crime. This grant provides critical funding to continue to build the City’s capacity to respond more appropriately and effectively to people in crisis. Components of the Hayward Bryne Grant for the HEART program include:
Utilize direct services personnel providing direct mental health, case management, and other social services as part of co-responder teams and community engagement and outreach activities; Utilize administrative personnel to oversee the project, provide administrative support, and conduct protocol/policy development to support co-responder teams; Utilize analyst personnel to develop and improve data collection and appropriate sharing mechanisms to inform project evaluation, make deliberate improvements, and plan for project expansion; Support indirect costs for financial and performance reporting as part of this grant.
Staff recommend that Council adopts a resolution (Attachment II) to accept and appropriate the $709,000 award to achieve the above activities for the HEART program through June 2025.
STRATEGIC ROADMAP
This agenda item supports the Strategic Priority of Enhance Community Safety and Quality of Life. Specifically, this item relates to Project Q1: Continue to implement and measure the HEART Pilot Program.
FISCAL IMPACT
Grant funds from the Byrne grant in the amount of $709,000 will be used in collaboration with additional funding received from the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) Behavioral Health Justice Intervention Services (BHJIS) project to support the continued operations and personnel costs of the HEART Program. As staff continues to develop long-term funding models that will allow for the sustainability of the HEART program beyond the pilot period, the awarded grant will provide critical bridge funding to offset the cost to the City’s General Fund. Staff will continue to work with the City’s legislative partners to identify additional grants to support the HEART program when the Byrne and BHJIS grants conclude.
PUBLIC CONTACT
The HEART Program was created as a recommendation following the City’s Public Safety Innovation Workshops in 2021. Updates on the Public Safety Police Innovation Projects can be found here: Public Safety Project Implementation.
NEXT STEPS
If the Council authorizes this action, staff will 1) accept and appropriate $709,000 to the Federal Grants Revenue Fund 220 and 2) continue developing and implementing the HEART program to provide essential mental health, medical, and other social services to the Hayward community.
Prepared by: Emily Hwang, Management Analyst
Amy Cole-Bloom, Community Services Manager
Recommended by: Regina Youngblood, Assistant City Manager Approved by:
___________________________________________
Kelly McAdoo, City Manager
www.hayward-ca.gov/haywardsafe
December 5, 2023 Council Work Session on Implementation Updates for the HEART Program: https://hayward.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=6439964&GUID=16D19787-E2B4-4CE6-AED4-2C69D4646D48&Options=&Search=