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BACKGROUND <br />In response to a national movement for police reform, Pleasanton residents expressed <br />their strong support to strengthen the response to those in mental health crisis. In <br />summer 2020, the City Council hosted a series of listening sessions and special Council <br />meetings focused on policing in Pleasanton. During these sessions the police <br />department provided a status update of the 21St Century Policing Report which included <br />the recommendation of an alternative Mental Health Response Program. At that time, <br />the City Council unanimously provided direction to develop a recommendation for a <br />program which strengthens the collaborative response to mental health calls for service <br />and the community's overall behavioral health resilience. <br />A diverse workgroup was formed to evaluate different national and regional mental <br />health response models, determine a model that would be effective and appropriate <br />specifically for the Pleasanton community, and make a recommendation to staff and the <br />City Council. The workgroup members brought diverse perspectives and engaged in <br />meaningful and productive conversations that led to a unanimous recommendation on <br />an alternative response model that will best serve the Pleasanton community. The <br />workgroup was comprised of: <br />Co -Chairs <br />Larry Cox, Police Captain, Pleasanton Police Department <br />Jennifer Penney, PsyD, Chief of Behavioral Health, Axis Behavioral Health, <br />Members <br />Katie Emmett, Police Officer, Pleasanton Police Department <br />Nicole Evans, Homeless Outreach Officer, Pleasanton Police Department <br />Jay Ingram, Human Services Manager, City of Pleasanton <br />Jeffrey Nagafuji, Manager of Specialized Services and Support, Regional Center of the <br />East Bay <br />Asceneth Paez-Arroyo, LMFT, Clinical Manager Horizons Family Counseling, <br />Kathleen Rief, Director Student Services, Pleasanton Unified School District <br />David Tom, MFT, Behavioral Health Manager II, Kaiser Permanente Department of <br />Mental Health <br />James Wagner, LMFT/LPCC, Deputy Director of Clinical Operations for Alameda <br />County Behavioral Health Care Services <br />The workgroup was charged with a direction to dream big and develop a program that <br />placed Pleasanton at the forefront of innovative and comprehensive leadership in <br />supporting those in mental health crisis and their families. The workgroup's <br />recommendation was a full-service model that added a police sergeant to lead the <br />program, a police officer to strengthen the model and decrease response times, and two <br />clinicians — one focused on youth interventions and one primarily for response to adults. <br />Page 2 of 11 <br />