Sarah Zárate, Director, Office of Administration, Policy, and Intergovernmental Relations
Tom Westphal, Deputy Director, Office of Administration, Policy, and Intergovernmental Relations
Kailyn Kenney, Assistant to the City Manager, Office
of Administration, Policy, and Intergovernmental Relations Raania Mohsen, Assistant to the City Manager, Office of Racial and Social Equity
City of San José
City Council
February 4, 2025
Options for
Expanding
Alternative
Response and
Co-Response
Programs to 911
Calls for Service
Report
911 Call Center
Community Need
Background: Calls for Service
988 Call Center
Alternative Response:
Civilian personnel with specialized skills
(for example, mental health clinicians) respond to incidents without a police officer being present.
Co-Response:
Specialized civilian personnel
respond to incidents along with
police officers – either
simultaneously or after officers
secure the incident site.
Police
Response
Fire
Response
2 Background: Current Services
3 Name Acronym Model
Primary
Dispatch
Method
City Services
Co-Response
Domestic Violence—
High Risk Response
Team
DV-HRRT
SJPD Officer calls a YWCA advocate for high-lethality domestic violence cases. Officer may request an in-person response, or the advocate may provide telephonic services.
Police Officer
Initiated
Joint City and County of Santa Clara Services
Co-Response
Psychiatric
Emergency Response
Team
PERT
SJPD Officer paired with a County of Santa Clara clinician, respond to 911 calls involving imminent danger, safety concerns, and/or individuals in high-acuity crisis.
911
County of Santa Clara Services
Crisis Call Center 988 Crisis Hotline N/A 24/7 help line to connect callers with resources to address mental health, suicide prevention, and substance abuse issues.
Alternative
Response
Mobile Crisis
Response Team MCRT Team of county clinicians responding to medium-high acuity mental health-related incidents. 988
Alternative
Response
Trusted Response
Urgent Support Team TRUST Team of EMT, crisis intervention specialist, and peer support specialist responding to less acute mental health incidents. 988
4 Background: Project History
911 Event Data Analysis
Report. City Council
accepts report and directs
exploration of alternative
and co-response
programs.
May 2022
Reimagining Public Safety
Community Advisory
Committee Report. City Council
accepts report recommending
broad array of public safety
reforms.
February 2024
Project Status Report. Public
Safety, Finance, and Strategic
Support Committee accepts
Expanding Alternative & Co-
Response Programs project
status report.
October 2024
FY 23-24 Adopted Budget.
City Council directs City
Manager's Office to
identify types of 911 calls
suitable for alternative and
co-response programs.
June 2023
FY 24-25 Mayor's March
Budget Message. City
Council directs City
Manager's Office to
engage with County of
Santa Clara to identify
additional 911-to-988 call
transfer opportunities.
March 2024
FY 24-25 Adopted Budget.
City Council appropriates
$450,000 for Trusted
Response Urgent Support
Team (TRUST) pilot
expansion.
June 2024
Expanding Alternative and
Co-Response Programs
Report to City Council.
February 2025
Budget Actions City Council /
Committee Actions
5 Background: Council Direction
Alternative Response:
Civilian personnel with specialized skills
(for example, mental health clinicians) respond to incidents without a police officer being present.
Co-Response:
Specialized civilian personnel respond to incidents along with police officers – either simultaneously or after
officers secure the incident site.
Explore
Expanded
Alternative
Response
TRUST Pilot
Expansion
Domestic
Violence
Incidents
Incidents
involving
Individuals with
Disabilities
Alternative Response
6 • Mapped current local alternative response services
• Polled residents to determine awareness of 988 services • Collaborating with County to expand current 911-to-988 call transfer program and increase residents’ awareness of 988 services
Activities
• City residents have limited awareness of 988 services • Current local alternative response programs have additional capacity for crisis response
• Identified potential opportunities to expand 911-to-988 call transfer program to include low-risk calls involving individuals in mental health crisis
Findings
City Council Direction
• Explore Alternative Response models for select 911 calls for service involving individuals with mental health issues, unhoused individuals, and for individuals with disabilities • Partner with County to identify opportunities for expanded Alternative Response and 911-to-988 call diversion Question: “Prior to taking this survey, were you aware that you can dial 988 to connect to trained counselors and support for _____?”
0.0%
5.0%
10.0%
15.0%
20.0%
25.0%
A mental health crisis Suicidal thoughts Substance abuse % of Respondents
May-24 Aug-24 Dec-24
Alternative Response
7 City Council Direction
• Explore Alternative Response models for select 911 calls for service involving individuals with mental health issues, unhoused individuals, and for individuals with disabilities • Partner with County to identify opportunities for expanded Alternative Response and 911-to-988 call diversion Next Steps / Opportunities:
• Staff will continue to monitor resident awareness of 988 services through quarterly polling • Staff will continue collaboration with County to identify opportunities for (1) educating residents on services available through 988; and (2) expanding the existing 911-to-988 call transfer pilot Alternative Response
8 City Council Direction
• Transfer $450,000 to the County to fund an additional 40 hours per week of TRUST coverage for a one-year period • Explore whether opioid settlement funding could be used to fund alternative response programs Next Steps / Opportunities:
• TRUST pilot providing expanded services through November 21, 2025; staff monitoring implementation • Staff working with City Attorney's Office and County counterparts to assess legal considerations and feasibility of using opioid settlement funding for continued TRUST pilot funding FY 24-25 Adopted Budget.
City Council appropriates
$450,000 for Trusted
Response Urgent Support
Team (TRUST) pilot
expansion.
June 2024
City Council Approval.
City Council approves
Memorandum of
Agreement with County
for TRUST pilot extension.
September 2024
County Launches Pilot.
County hires and launches
additional TRUST team;
pilot expansion services
begin November 21, 2024.
November 2024
Staff Report on Pilot
Implementation. Staff to
report to City Council on
TRUST pilot effectiveness
and potential for extension
through end of Fiscal Year
using opioid settlement
funding.
Fall 2025
TRUST Pilot Extension
Ends. Current TRUST pilot
funded through November
21, 2025.
November 2025
Co-Response: Disability
9 City Council Direction
• Explore Co-Response models for incidents involving individuals with disabilities • Limited community engagement with members of
the disability community and advocates
• Conducted research on co-response programs and practices in other jurisdictions
• Examined current SJPD practices, such as Crisis Intervention Training (CIT), and PERT co-response program
• SJPD examining improvements to 911 call data
collection around people with disabilities, including people with mental health conditions.
Activities
• Some disability community members and advocates prefer alternative response over co-response programs for crisis events involving people with disabilities.
• PERT is comparable to co-response programs in
other jurisdictions
• SJPD practices like CIT should be continuously evaluatedto align with community need
Findings
Disability is an evolving concept resulting from attitudinal and environmental barriers hindering the participation of persons with disability in society, including differences w/sensory, cognitive function, mobility, and mental and chronic health issues Co-Response: Disability
10 Next Steps / Opportunities:
• SJPD reporting on 911 call disability data collection improvements to PSFSS in May 2025 • Expansion of co-response programs for individuals with disabilities, would require City Council prioritization as part of the FY 2025-2026 budget development process.
City Council Direction
• Explore Co-Response models for incidents involving individuals with disabilities Co-Response: Domestic Violence
11 • Conducted research on co-response programs
in other jurisdictions
• Examined current DV-HRRT co-response program
• Working with consultant to conduct communityengagement on domestic violence solutions outside of law enforcement Activities
• Best practices for co-response programs identified include dedicated staffing and clear dispatch criteria forin-
person response.
• Opportunities to enhance DV-HRRT program include enhanced data collection, renewed protocols, and updated training Findings
City Council Direction
• Explore Co-Response models for Domestic Violence calls Next Steps / Opportunities:
• Staff continuing to work with SJPD and YWCA partners to enhance current program • Align consideration of new domestic violence program(s) with completion of community engagement and future budget discussions
Next: City-County Collaboration
12 • In the short-term, Staff will continue to seek the County's agreement on the following:
Expanding the existing 911-to-988 transfer program to include low-risk 911 calls for service for individuals exhibiting signs of low-acuity mental health crises.
Identifying a process and timeline for evaluating additional call types for 911- to-988 transfer.
Negotiating an amendment to our existing Memorandum of Agreement to facilitate a potential extension of the TRUST pilot program through the end of June 2026 using opioid settlement funding.
Presenters:
Sarah Zárate, Director, Office of Administration, Policy, and Intergovernmental Relations
Tom Westphal, Deputy Director, Office of Administration, Policy, and Intergovernmental Relations
Kailyn Kenney, Assistant to the City Manager, Office of Administration, Policy, and Intergovernmental Relations
Raania Mohsen, Assistant to the City Manager, Office of Racial and Social Equity
Options for Expanding Alternate & Co-
Response Programs to 911 Calls for Service
Accept Staff Report
Direct the City Manager to continue
collaboration with County of Santa
Clara to identify opportunities to
expand the 911-to-988 call transfer
program, educate residents on services
available through 988, and to monitor
implementation of the Trusted Response
Urgent Support Team (TRUST) expansion
pilot.
Recommendations
for Council Action
San José City Council: 02.04.25