City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: December 17, 2024
Agenda Item: 5.Q
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: Ramon Batista, Police Chief, Police Department
Subject: Authorization to Accept the U.S. Department of Justice's FY2024 Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act Grant
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Authorize the City Manager to accept a grant awarded in the amount of $200,000 from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act (LEMHWA) Grant Program for mental health support in the Police Department, and to accept all grant renewals.
2. Authorize the City Manager to execute all necessary documents to accept the grant and all grant renewals.
3. Adopt a finding that the award grant is not a project subject to the California Environmental Quality Act
4. Authorize budget amendment as outlined in the Financial Impacts & Budget Actions section of this report (requires 5 votes).
Summary
Over the last four years, the Santa Monica Police Department (“SMPD”) has experienced unprecedented levels of fatigue and burnout coupled with a lack of mental health wellness tools to deal with stress and trauma, which adversely affects officer’s ability to provide the community with the service they deserve. The US Department of Justice recently awarded the City a $200,000 grant to promote mental health and wellness for SMPD personnel. SMPD intends to utilize the grant funding to (1) Deliver mindfulness training to support SMPD personnel’s emotional and mental health, (2) Provide tools for stress reduction and resilience, and (3) Design an application to provide on-demand mental health support services. The grant term is for two years and no local match is required.
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To meet the goals of this action plan, SMPD will collaborate with subject matter experts in the local area and community members who are invested in the well-being of SMPD personnel and who are committed to helping the organization build a culture where mental health is prioritized and not stigmatized.
Discussion
The Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act (“LEMHWA”) was enacted in 2018 to address the mental health needs of law enforcement officers. The LEMHWA grant is a key component of this legislation, providing funding to support the development and implementation of mental health and wellness programs for law enforcement agencies.
The LEMHWA grant is administered by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). The grant is available to state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies to support programs that promote mental health and wellness among their officers. The grant can be used to fund a range of activities including:
• Developing and implementing peer support programs to provide officers with emotional support and assistance during difficult times. • Providing training on stress management, resilience, and mental health awareness to law enforcement officers.
• Establishing or enhancing crisis intervention teams to provide officers with access to mental health services.
• Conducting research on the mental health needs of law enforcement officers and identifying best practices for supporting their well-being. • Providing mental health services to law enforcement officers, including counseling, therapy, and other forms of treatment.
The Santa Monica Police Department plans to leverage these funds to provide wellness and resiliency resources to its personnel. The Department will use the LEMHWA 3 of 4
funding toward a Resiliency and Wellness Action Plan, which will be implemented in three progressive stages: stage one will include mindfulness training through the Mindfulness in Policing Program designed by the University of California, Los Angeles for line-level patrol, stage two will be a train-the-trainer model of mindfulness and emotional regulation through the Peace Officer Wellness, Empathy & Resilience (POWER) Training Program through the Center for Council, and the last stage will be the execution of an on-demand mental health support application. There are no future funding implications by accepting this grant. The nature of the program is to provide wellness and resiliency training to SMPD personnel. If future funding becomes available, staff may look to continue the on-demand mental health application, but at this moment, there are no plans to continue this service past the grant term.
By providing officers with the appropriate tools to combat stress and trauma through experts trained in mindfulness and behavioral health, as well as mental health support services for all personnel, the Department will not only bring resilience and wellness to the officers but ensure the well-being of the Santa Monica community they serve.
Without the additional grant funds, the opportunity to provide this training would not be possible. Using this grant will meet unfunded needs and will serve to improve the quality of life and work environment of the employees of the Santa Monica Police Department. The grant will cover a two-year period and staff anticipate utilizing all of the funding during that term. The training portion will allow PD personnel to in essence become “trainers” themselves in the subject matter.
Environmental Review
The award grant is not a “project” subject to CEQA. The grant would provide mental health support services that are administrative in nature. Pursuant to CEQA Section 21065, the grant does not meet the definition of a “project” subject to CEQA as it will not “cause either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment”. Additionally, per Section 15378(b) of the CEQA Guidelines, a “project” does not include organizational or administrative activities of governments that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment. Therefore, the acceptance of the grant is not subject to CEQA. 4 of 4
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
Staff seeks authority to accept a grant from the U.S Department of Justice’s Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act grant program for mental health support.
Approval of the recommended action requires the following budget amendment. FY 2024-25 Grant Budget Amendment
Establish Revenue Budget Appropriate Funds
Account Number Amount Account Number Amount
20180001.405932 $200,000 20180001.556632 $200,000
If renewals are awarded, budget changes will be included in subsequent year budgets, contingent on Council budget approval.
Prepared By: Jose Arroyo, Senior Administrative Analyst Approved Forwarded to Council