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BACKGROUND Through several channels, Pleasanton residents have expressed their strong support to strengthen the response to those in mental health crisis. In Summer 2020, the City Council hosted a series of listening sessions and special Council meetings focused on policing in Pleasanton. Through these meetings, Council directed staff to present a proposal for an Alternate Mental Health Response Program. A diverse workgroup was formed to evaluate different national and regional mental health response models, determine a model that would be effective and appropriate for the community, and present a recommendation to the City Council. Staff presented a program recommendation on November 16, 2021, that included two licensed clinicians to form the Alternate Response to Mental Health (ARMH) program. An RFP was published on May 2, 2022 and closed on June 1, 2022. The City received one response to the RFP from Bonita House. DISCUSSION The ARMH RFP outlined the requirements and scope of work which included specific requirements for clinicians to respond in the field with non-uniformed police officers, and the ability to author applications for involuntary psychiatric detentions in Alameda County. The RFP also requested the clinicians provide training for City staff on responding and interacting with clients in a mental health crisis. Clinicians will also work with staff to support programs and deliver services for Pleasanton's unhoused population. BHI was the only responsive bid to the RFP. BHI has 51 years of experience in preventing and responding to those in crisis, including 23 years performing crisis intervention outside of a residential setting. BHI is currently contracted with Alameda County Behavioral Health to provide crisis intervention services through the Community Assessment and Transport Team (CATT), which pairs a mental health clinician with an EMT or Paramedic through Falck Ambulance. BHI is well-suited as an organization to provide crisis intervention in the wide range of community settings in which services are needed. As part of this contract, BHI will recruit two clinicians dedicated to the Pleasanton ARMH program. BHI has the structure and oversight to provide job specific training to ensure contemporary best practices are utilized. BHI possesses needed certifications from Alameda County Behavioral Health to author involuntary mental health holds and has access to county-wide behavioral health resources. Data collection and analysis is essential to ensure the program goals are met. BHI has a structure to collect and analyze programmatic data. This data will be used to evaluate the efficacy of the program and included in reports to Council. BHI does not have any potential, real or perceived conflicts of interest. BHI has a contract with Alameda County to provide CATT services in the following areas: Oakland, San Leandro, Hayward, and Fremont. Because Pleasanton is not an included area of service, there is no conflict of interest. Page 2 of 3