Goal #10

Explore the development of a regional mental health services unit with partner Best Southwest cities

1. Establish a regional steering committee to investigate regional partnership to develop a mental health services unit | Police Department | Start FY 2021 Q1 | Complete FY 2021 Q4

2. Create a regional mental health needs report | Police Department | FY 2021 Q2 | Complete FY 2021 Q3

3. In collaboration with partner cities, develop a regional mental health action plan including an operating and capital budget | Police Department | Start FY 2021 Q3 | Complete FY 2021 Q4

4. Identify grant opportunities to support costs related to a regional mental health services unit | Police Department | Start FY 2021 Q1 | Complete FY 2021 Q4

5. Provide ongoing mental health training to DeSoto police officers | Police Department | Start FY 2021 Q1 | Complete FY 2021 Q4

6. Identify and recommend potential mental health diversion programs to regional partners | Municipal Court | Start FY 2021 Q1 | Complete FY 2021 Q4

7. Conduct a town hall meeting to review outcomes of DeSoto’s Mental Health Services Unit | Police Department | Start FY 2021 Q4 | Complete FY 2021 Q4

8. Develop a dispatch plan and policy for dispatching regional mental health unit services | Southwest Regional Communications Center | Start FY 2021 Q1 | Complete FY 2021 Q4

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4th Quarter Update
September 2021

Through September, the City's Crisis Assessment & Resource Engagement (CARE) Team has continued to develop resources and policies to assist DeSoto residents in need of behavioral health resources. The CARE Team provided an update to the community by way of a Town Hall Meeting in September. Grant-funded efforts to establish a regional team continue to move forward with the formation of a regional steering committee comprised of public safety personnel from the City's of DeSoto, Duncanville, Cedar Hill, Lancaster, and Glenn Heights. The City worked in partnership with DeSoto ISD to lease space at Northside Elementary School as a location for the regional behavior health team. This item will continue into the FY 2022 Business Plan and can continue to be tracked in that report.

3rd Quarter Update
July 2021

The City of DeSoto was awarded a $1.9 million grant through Dallas County to plan for and provide short-term staffing of a future regional mental health resources team, which funding is being utilized in part to fund a regional team manager assigned to coordinating the Cities of DeSoto, Duncanville, Cedar Hill, Lancaster, and Glenn Heights. Together, these cities have the goal to scale DeSoto's pilot Crisis Assessment & Resource Engagement (CARE) Team to a regional service delivery model. A regional steering committee is being formed with partner agencies and is scheduled to meet regularly in Q4. An Interlocal Agreement has been created to align municipal court services, and an emergency dispatch policy is being finalized.