Committee on Health and Human Relations
Meeting Date: September 9, 2020
ORDER
WHEREAS, the City of Chicago appropriated $1.78 billion for the Chicago Police Department (CPD) in FY2020. CPD has the second highest per capita spending among all large police departments throughout the country at $660 per year, an amount that has nearly tripled since 1964. The City of Philadelphia is a distant third at $488 per capita; and
WHEREAS, CPD overtime spending has skyrocketed over the past 10 years, from $42.2 million in 2011 to $139.5 in 2019. Overtime spending in 2020 is on-track to exceed that 2019 figure substantially; and
WHEREAS, the CPD's responses to mental health crises have proven fatal in many instances, including cases like the Quintonio LeGrier, and legal settlements for police misconduct in these and other cases now exceeds $100,000,000 annually; and
WHEREAS, Chicago is facing a mental health crisis that has only intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic, with many residents lacking access to mental health services following years of divestment in Chicago's mental health infrastructure, and with a shrinking in the number of city-run mental health clinics, which would be an especially valuable resource to residents today, from 19 to only 5 today; and
WHEREAS, effective models of alternative responses to mental health crises, neighbor disputes, and other incidents have been developed and implemented through a joint partnership between the cities of Eugene and Springfield, Oregon. Crisis Assistance Helping Out On the Streets (CAHOOTS) is a 31 year-old program that provides services such as crisis counseling, suicide prevention/intervention, conflict resolution, substance abuse, housing crises, non-emergency medical care, and transportation in the Eugene-Springfield metropolitan area. CAHOOTS is run by the White Bird Clinic, and each CAHOOTS team consists of a medic and a crisis worker trained in trauma-informed care and de-escalation; and
WHEREAS, CAHOOTS responds to approximately 20% of all calls for service to the Eugene and Springfield Police Departments, and the Eugene Police Department estimates that CAHOOTS saves the department $8.5 million on average annually-nearly 12% of their $68 million budget. Notably, only 1% of calls directed to the CAHOOTS program required additional support from police; and
WHEREAS, CAHOOTS-style programs are being planned in cities including Denver, Colorado; San Francisco, California; Oakland, California; and Albuquerque, New Mexico; and
Committee on Health and Human Relations
WHEREAS, in a city the size of Chicago, such a model can only meet the needs of our diverse communities if it is part ofthe public mental health system, and strengthens and expands the existing network of CDPH mental health clinics; now, therefore,
BE IT ORDERED by the City Council of the City of Chicago:
1. That the Commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH), the Chicago Budget Director, and the Commissioner of the Office of Emergency Management and Communications, and in consultation with the City Council of Chicago and its Health and Human Relations Committee, shall work together to develop a plan to include a publicly funded and operated, Chicago Crisis Response and Care System within the CDPH to establish 24-hour crisis response teams throughout Chicago dispatched from a network of public community mental health centers, to be included in the 2021 City of Chicago budget proposal. The Chicago Crisis Response and Care System proposal shall include the following elements:
The network of public mental health centers will expand to include enough facilities to serve the full City of Chicago.
Public mental health centers shall include community and consumer oversight through the establishment of a community advisory council at each center.
Crisis Coverage shall operate 24 hours per day with at least two vehicles constituting a Crisis Response Unit (CRU) in circulation for each center at all times.
Each Crisis vehicle shall have two staff, a Clinical Social Worker and an Emergency Medical Technician or Registered Nurse.
Clinical Social Workers providing Crisis Coverage shall also have time in their weekly schedules for the performance of other duties including follow-up case management, public engagement, special projects with community members, professional development, and providing preventative educational services.
Each of the public centers shall be staffed by additional Clinical Social Workers, Case Managers and Restorative Justice practitioners to provide a continuum of care appropriate to the range of needs expected in the community.
Calls to dispatch a crisis team shall be directed by the Office of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC) through a new city line (i.e., 211) and through qualifying calls made to either 311 or 911.
OEMC and CDPH shall seek technical assistance from White Bird Clinic for the development and implementation of the service.
i. Include multiple scenarios, timelines, and associated costs for scaling up the
model over time.
j. Timeline scenarios must include an implementation start-date before the end of 2021; and
Committee on Health and Human Relations
That funding for this Chicago Crisis Response and Care System and the connected clinics will be appropriated from the CPD, including its Overtime budget line, and said funds will be re-allocated to the CDPH.
That the Health and Human Relations committee hold a hearing to take place no later than October 30, 2020 in order to allow for public testimony to inform the planning process for the Chicago Crisis Response and Care System.
Alderman 33rd Ward
The following legislation is being introduced by Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez, co-sponsored by
Daniel LaSpata
Alderman Ward 1 Alderman Ward 8
Alderman Ward 2 Alderman Ward 9
Alderman Ward 3 Alderman Ward 10
Alderman Ward 4 Alderman Ward 11
Alderman Ward 5 Alderman Ward 12
Alderman Ward 6 Alderman Ward 13
Alderman Ward 7 Alderman Ward 14
Committee on Health and Human Relations
Alderman Ward 27
Alderman Ward 28
Alderman Ward 29
Alderman Ward 30
Alderman Ward 19
_Jeannette Taylor
Alderman Ward 32
Alderman Ward 33 _Rossana Rodrigez Sanchez_ Alderman Ward 34
_Carlos Ramirez-Rosa
Alderman Ward 35
Alderman Ward 24
Byron Sigcho Lopez_
Alderman Ward 25
Alderman Ward 38
Committee on Health and Human Relations
Alderman Ward 39
Andre Vazquez
Alderman Ward 40
Alderman Ward 41
Alderman Ward 42
Mayor Lightfoot
Alderman Ward 43
Alderman Ward 44
Alderman Ward 45
Alderman Ward 46
_Matthew Martin
Alderman Ward 47
Alderman Ward 48
Maria Hadden
Alderman Ward 49
Alderman Ward 50
Mail - Ordinances - Outlook
CITY OF CHICAGO
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OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK ANNA M. VALENCIA
Chicago City Council Co-Sponsor Form
Document No.:
Call for development of Chicago Crisis Response and Care System within Chicago Department of Public Health to be included in 2021 budget proposal
Adding Co-Sponsor(s)
J'lease ADO Co-Sponsor(s) Shown Below ^(Principal Sponsor's Consent Required)
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Principal Sponsor:
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fl I Ward) d I Ward)
Date Filed:
Final Copies To Be Filed With: • Chairman of Committee to which legislation was referred
• City Clerk
121 NORTH LASALLE STREET. ROOM 107, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS G06O2