(Center Square)- The Spokane Police Department (SPD) is using an $879,780 grant to pay wages and benefits for six full-time workers who will be part of an existing community mental health response team.
On Monday, the city council accepted a grant from the Washington Association of Sheriff Police Chiefs (WASPC), which operates through the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO). The funds will be used to hire a sergeant to oversee the team, her mental health coordinator, and her four police officers.
The agenda report for the September 19 meeting reflects that $772,525 of the funds will be used for regular salaries, $97,255 for overtime, and $10,000 for training and travel.
The purpose of WASPC grants is to direct individuals to community resources that provide treatment rather than imprisoning individuals for their crimes. A person experiencing mental health problems is not necessarily committing a crime, but the community relies on her SPD and her SCSO to respond to situations with behavioral problems.
SPD must maintain documentation of all costs incurred under the grant for a period of six years from final disbursement under its contract with SCSO, which manages the funds.
The SPD must certify that the services performed under the contract do not overlap with services billed to other grants, sub-grants, or other funding sources. Audits by the county, SCSO, and WASPC must be permitted along with inspections of books, papers, documents, records, and equipment related to the grant.
City officials say having mental health professionals working in the field alongside law enforcement encourages positive interactions between citizens and agencies, reducing instability and reducing the use of force. can reduce the possibility of
Another benefit is that officers can turn crisis situations over to mental health teams to focus on patrols and other public safety needs.
Earlier this year, Spokane Mayor Nadine Woodward acknowledged that the team had helped 4,090 people at risk in one year. This is almost a 10% increase over the previous year. Of these encounters, his 0.8% of contacted subjects were arrested and over 4,500 calls were taken off patrol.
On the other side, Woodward recruited about 30 health care, education, youth services, and health care, education, and youth services to assess programs and resources to identify where service gaps exist and find ways to fill them. We have put together a behavioral health task force consisting of government officials.
The city also invested $500,000 to redevelop the former Hillyard Library into a new mental health clinic. The Spokane Community Behavioral Health Clinic plans to open someone next year and accommodate both in-person and telemedicine visits.
The center is expected to reduce wait times for youth counseling services, which currently take up to six months. Services will focus on trauma, suicidal ideation, drug and alcohol addiction.
