The Antioch City Council will look to approve its response to a request from the Contra Costa Grand Jury on its mental health crisis response.
On Tuesday, the council is being asked by the Grand Jury to update its response to its Grand Jury Report #2106 Mental Health Crisis Response”.
Back in October of 2022, the city council approved its own crisis response team versus working with Contra Costa County. It came with a cost of between $1.8 to $2.2 million per year and the city is using American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for the pilot. Since the launch, however, no data has been provided to the public on the program such as number of calls or program effectiveness.
The goal is to reduce the impact of the Antioch Police Department where this program focuses on responses to non-violent and non life-threatening response situations—this comes after the city council, in March 2021, directed the city manager to establish a 24-hour health crisis response team for Antioch residents.
In 2020, 4,142 police calls were service calls for homeless-related or mental health/drug related calls. Of those calls, 1,373 were categorized as potentially low-level calls for service.
In November 2021, the City of Antioch and other public agencies in the Contra Costa County received the Grand Jury report: 911 Mental Heal Crisis Response: A New Way “To Protect and To Serve.” The attached report was not just submitted to the City of Antioch but was distributed county-wide
On October 12, 2023, the City of Antioch received the attached letter (Attachment D) requesting status updates to five (5) of the City’s responses to the original Grand Jury Report that stated, “This recommendation has not been implemented but will be in the future.
Below is from the Staff Report and the response:
Authorization to Respond to Request for Status Update to Grand Jury Report No. 2106 “Mental Health Crisis Response”
Recommendation 3: By September 30, 2022 the Antioch City Council collaborate with DHS to establish a pilot project
Updated Response: The recommendation has been implemented. The City of Antioch created the Angelo Quinto Community Response Team pilot project on November 23, 2022. Through the 911 dispatch call center, the Angelo Quinto Community Response Team (AQCRT) provides Antioch residents with timely, on-site interventions for mental health crises. Intervention services include de-escalation, mediation, conflict resolution, and social services linkage. The AQCRT is a 24/7 program
Recommendation 4: By October 30, 2022, the City of Antioch apply for grants, including AB-118, to fund its participation in the pilot program.
Updated Response: The recommendation has been implemented. The Angelo Quinto Community Response Team (pilot program) has been funded for a period of two years (November 23, 2022-November 30, 2024) through American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. As the Department of Public Safety and Community Resources continues to grow, we anticipate searching and applying for grants that will continue to fund the Angelo Quinto Community Response Team
Recommendation 5: By June 30, 2022, the Board of Supervisors direct DHS to establish a joint team including representatives from community partners for the administration of the pilot project.
Updated Response: The recommendation will not be implemented. The Board of Supervisors have determined that it is not warranted or is not reasonable. Community Partners have been integral to the development and success of the A3 initiative from its conception and will continue to be throughout its implementation. The administration of the current County pilot, however, is primarily managed by the County’s Health Services Department’s Behavioral Health Division. Community partners play advisory and subject matter expert roles, but there is no plan to have community partners administer the program. Community partners include:
- Those with lived experience
- Clients and family members
- Law enforcement
- Fire and emergency medical responders
- Behavioral health professionals
- Improvement advisors
- Mobile crisis team members
- Consolidated Planning and Advisory Workgroup
- Mental Health Commission
- Local City Managers
Recommendation 6: By September 30, 2022, DHS and the City of Antioch begin a comprehensive program to inform and educate the community members about the project and the specific resource[s] that will be available at the outset of the pilot project.
Updated Response: The recommendation has been implemented. The collaboration between the City of Antioch and the Angelo Quinto Community Response Team (AQCRT) informs and educates the community about AQCRT’s services and available resources. AQCRT has actively engaged in community outreach by talking to local businesses and community members and setting up informational booths to educate the public about its services at events such as the Department of Public Safety and Community Resources Domestic Violence Awareness event and the Unhoused Pop-Up event.
Recommendation 7: By December 31, 2022, the Antioch Police Department and its 911 dispatchers augment their training to include the new MCRT alternative response options available.
Updated Response: The recommendation has been implemented. The Antioch Police Department and its 911 dispatchers have been trained to assess the nature of 911 calls and determine if the AQCRT should be dispatched to respond in lieu of Antioch Police Officers.
City Council Meeting
- Antioch City Council Meeting
- Tuesday, Nov 28, 2023
- 7:00 pm
- 200 H St, Antioch CA
- Agenda – click here
Previous Stories:
- Oct 10, 2023 – Newsom Signs Bill Banning “Excited Delirium” as Cause of Death
- Jan 13, 2023 – District Attorney Report Says Use of Force Lawful by Antioch Police in 2021
- Oct 26, 2022 – Antioch City Council Approves “Angelo Quinto Crisis Response Team”
- Sept 2, 2022 – DA Report: No Evidence of Criminal Offense in Death of Angelo Quinto
7 comments
Transparency from Antioch?
This city council IS the mental crisis.
It never has been clear why this subject should involve a grand jury at all. That would not seem to be an appropriate “venue” for a study of this subject.
This report was from the county Civil Grand Jury not a criminal grand jury. The civil grand jury investigates and reports on local government and special districts within the count. With that said, the topic of how local law enforcement responds to mental health crises is very much appropriate for the civil grand jury to investigate, report and suggest solutions.
The circus is at the table. Best clowns in town. Do something about all the homeless invading 18th st &Ast. Shopping center. What a mess. They should be ashamed . Clown 🤡 🐠 🤡 🐠 🤡 on.
Was it the crisis response team that responded to the complaint vagrants were living on the sidewalk at 18th and Cavallo Road forcing students to walk into the street to get around them? Did they respond a second time to ask them to move out of the vacant lot on 18th and Cavallo? Are they now going to respond to the complaint they are now living n Cavallo Road, under the overpass, on the sidewalk just north of Sunset? Seems the crisis response team doesn’t draft enough water to have a lasting impact on the vagrant crisis in Antioch. Antioch needs Law and Code Enforcement, not more codeling.
Code enforcement needs training on what constitutes Elder Abuse and their LEGAL OBLIGATION to report under both state and federal law. At least three enforcement officers were apprised of neighbor’s repeated verbal abuse, physical confrontations and did nothing, resulting in owner being fearful of going to their property. Grand Jury needs to review failure to report elder abuse, what appears to be selective enforcement and behavior bordering on harassment under the color of authority.
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