PAD Contract Renewed!
But only for six additional months, to July 2025.
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HEADLINES
The Atlanta City Council met November 18 to hear from 30+ community members speaking in support of the Policing Alternatives & Diversion Initiative (PAD) and then heard from City COO LaChandra Burks and APD Chief Darin Schierbaum, who spoke in support of a newly opened jail diversion program which is co-located in the city jail and operated by Grady Health System, and answered questions from the Council.
The Council voted 11 - 2 to extend the PAD contract for two years.
ATLANTA - City leaders approve contract extension for PAD, city’s diversion agency (Atlanta News First)
Atlanta City Council approved a two-year, $5 million contract extension for PAD, the Policing Alternatives and Diversion Initiative.
Speaking for PAD on November 18 was Toni Jackson and Sasha Friedman.
After public comment ended, City Council members heard from the city COO and police chief on the contract renewal.
Mayor Tries to Secretly Replace Popular Diversion Program (The Appeal)
Moki Macias PAD - “We certainly can’t force the city of Atlanta to partner with us to provide these services, but we were designed to provide these services,” she told The Appeal. “We employ dozens of Atlanta residents who are bringing their life experience and their commitment and their passion to provide these services to their community, and that’s what we want to be able to continue to do.”
Jail diversion program faces uncertain future (Axios)
Jail diversion program in limbo as Atlanta City Hall weighs options (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Ordinance 24-O-1474 - to execute contract with PAD.
SANTA FE - New Mexico offering new virtual mobile crisis training (Santa Fe New Mexican)
The new two-day training is available as providers in New Mexico plan to expand services to qualify as “certified community behavioral health clinics,” a federally designated model that includes staffing 24-hour mobile crisis teams.
MIDDLE TN - Cookeville launches community response program for mental health crises (WKRN.com)
The response team consists of a Volunteer Behavioral Health clinician and an EMT from the Cookeville Fire Department, who can give informed mental health care and reduce the likelihood that an individual will be arrested during a crisis.
COLORADO SPRINGS - A new 1% sales tax has passed to pays to “enhance the community paramedic and mobile crisis response programs (Pikes Peak Courier)
PORTLAND - Portland Street Response manager exits amid uncertain future (OPB.org)
The head of Portland Street Response quietly resigned a week before a citywide election that has made the fledgling first response program a central issue.
Lielah Leighton worked as Portland Street Response’s program manager for just over a year, stepping in during a tumultuous time. She replaced Robyn Burek, the program’s first manager, who quit after feeling “politically scapegoated” by city leadership. Leighton was on personal leave for at least a month before her resignation.
CAMBRIDGE - More Than 2 Years Later, Cambridge HEART Still Struggling to Meet Original Mission (Harvard Crimson)
Earl Miller - “I think that what happened to CRESS is what happens to these departments nationally, which is that in their moment, everyone supports it, people run on it. But when that moment is over — the police don’t compete with the fire department for their funding, but alternatives compete with schools for funding, they compete with the Department of Public Works for funding.”
ROCHESTER - New mobile crisis response process coming in 2025 (press release)
As of Jan 1 Olmsted County will have its own mobile crisis response process provided by the county’s Crisis Response team (previously known as the Diversity, Equity, and Community Outreach team or DECO).
SAN ANTONIO - Did San Antonio choose the right combination in its response to mental health calls? (KSAT.com)
Ron Nirenberg San Antonio mayor, explaining why he chose a co-response model - “We’re in Texas. There are many situations, like domestic violence situations and mental health crises, where a responder might walk in, and it becomes a very dangerous and volatile environment. Let’s do what we know will work — according to the experts in the room — but also let’s do some common sense.”
Eds. note - AMSA has sent Mayor Nirenberg the new report from the Harvard Government Performance Lab on embedding clinicians in 911.
San Antonio and Denver Pioneering New Mental Health Crisis Response Programs (Hoodline)
Speaking of the Harvard GPL, they’re excited to announce the selection of the five governments participating in the 2024-25 Alternative 911 Emergency Response Implementation Cohort.
The initiative is designed to support city and county leaders in expanding and evaluating alternative responses to 911 calls. Selected governments will receive pro bono technical assistance and applied research support, including one-on-one coaching for government staff, access to adaptable implementation template materials, and GPL-facilitated Cohort calls with peer government agencies.
The governments are:
City of Los Angeles, CA
City of Madison/Dane County, WI
Minneapolis, MN
New Orleans, LA
San Francisco, CA
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