REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
January 28, 2021
FROM: PACO BALDERAMMA, Chief of Police
Police Department
BY: PHILLIP COOLEY, Deputy Police Chief
Administrative Division
SUBJECT
Title
Actions pertaining to the 2020 Law Enforcement Mental Health & Wellness (LEMHWA) grant program
1. Authorize the Chief of Police to accept $98,624 in grant funding for the 2020 Law Enforcement Mental Health & Wellness (LEMHWA) grant awarded to the Fresno Police Department from the U.S. Department of Justice, through the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS)
2. ***RESOLUTION - Adopt the 53rd Amendment to the Annual Appropriation Resolution (AAR) No. 2020-159 appropriating $59,600 for the Police Department’s Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness (LEMWHA) grant (requires five affirmative votes) (subject to Mayor’s veto)
3. ***RESOLUTION - Adopt the 3rd Amendment to Position Authorization Resolution No. 2020-160, adding .75 FTE Police Cadet position to the Fresno Police Department
Body
RECOMMENDATIONS
Staff recommends that Council authorize acceptance of $98,624 in grant funding from the U.S. Department of Justice, through the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, allowing the Chief of Police or his designee to enter into and execute the agreement and any amendments or modifications, adopt the 53rd Amendment to AAR No 2020-159 to appropriate $59,600 funding into the FY 2021 budget, and adopt the 3rd Amendment to Position Authorization Resolution No. 2020-160adding one .75 Police Cadet position to the Fresno Police Department. The remaining funds will be utilized in FY 2021-2022. Funds have been awarded for the 2020 Law Enforcement Mental Health & Wellness grant to the Fresno Police Department.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The City of Fresno has been awarded grant funds of $98,624 from the U.S. Department of Justice, through the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services to provide in-house training to our sworn officers and civilian personnel as well as other agencies within the Central Valley on managing stress, burnout, coping, resiliency and crisis intervention and stress management. The grant period is from September 1, 2020 to August 31, 2022.
BACKGROUND
Officer wellness is the idea that every officer deserves adequate health and safety measures and that their physical and mental well-being are to be taken care of. Officer wellness is a major concern for law enforcement on a national level and the lack of it appears on many levels that can vary from an injury to officer suicide. When looking at fitness and injury, studies from the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and the US Department of Justice (DOJ) show that healthy officers recover from injury and return to work more quickly than those that are unhealthy. In looking at deaths, several different studies rank officer suicide as the number one cause of death. Other studies indicated that suicide was the second highest ranking cause of death. According to Badge of Life in 2008, the police suicide rate was 55% higher than the national average; however that rate has dropped dramatically to the current rate of 8%. This is largely due to the implementation of Wellness programs in law enforcement agencies throughout the nation.
To identify and prevent police suicides each year, efforts should be focused on officer overall mental and emotional well-being instead of the narrower suicide prevention. The benefits include not only suicide prevention but also fewer deaths from shootings and accidents, lawsuits and complaints against officers, on and off job injuries, alcoholism and substance abuse occurrences, criminal or other behaviors, divorces, grievances, resignations and in some instances, officer-involved shootings.
The Fresno Police Department’s Employee Services program has had a long commitment to Officer Wellness. The three pillars of the program are the Fresno Police Department (FPD), the Fresno Police Officers Association (FPOA) and the Fresno Police Chaplaincy (FPC). The key components of the wellness program are the department managed Employee Assistance Program (EAP), the FPOA managed Companion Officer (peer support) Program (COP) and the Chaplaincy managed Resiliency Program. In addition, the FPOA has recently implemented a web based mobile application, Companion, Awareness, Resources, Education, Support (CARES) to support the wellness and COP programs.
In addition to the COP and EAP, FPD provides all employees with access to various resources such as health care and legal information, hotline phone numbers, stress management tools and critical incident information. FPD employs a full-time Employee Services Coordinator to act a liaison between the department and the department members while coordinating their peer support.
The COP provides peer support to officers for traumatic events. The COP consists of companion officer volunteers who receive approximately 28 hours of training in peer support, coping with stress and resiliency training to assist members through a time of crisis. This training is on-going in-service training.
The FPD Employee Services program relies on support from the FPD, FPOA and FPC to provide mental health support for officers. Each component of the program works together to maintain wellness programs used to support wellness in a traumatic work environment. In addition, the CARES application has been incorporated to help facilitate communication between all three areas.
Funding from this grant will enable the FPD to utilize the services of Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) that will educate members on mental health issues for themselves or their families, providing ways to manage stressor points and resiliency. Course subject matter will include Crisis Intervention Stress Management, Stress, Burnout and Coping and Resiliency training. In addition, a .75 FTE Police Cadet will be added to perform administrative duties in support of the Employee Services Coordinator. This funding will enable the Fresno Police Department to enhance its current capabilities and enhance and maintain the current COP, EAP programs and CARES application.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
This is not a “project” for the purposes of CEQA, pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15378.
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Local preference was not considered because accepting grant funds does not include a bid or award of a construction or service contract.
FISCAL IMPACT
There will be no net impact to the general fund. The grant provides full cost recovery for all operations, training and supplies for this program during the period of the grant. Expenses will be claimed and reimbursed on a quarterly basis.
Attachments: Grant Award
53rd Annual Appropriations Resolution No. 2020-159
3rd Amendment to Position Authorization Resolution No. 2020-160