(a) (1) Subject to an appropriation in the 2021 Budget Act for purposes of this chapter, the C.R.I.S.E.S. Grant Pilot Program established pursuant to Section 18999.91 shall be administered by the department.

(2) (A) The department shall award grants to eligible grantees, as determined by the department, based on grant eligibility criteria developed in partnership with the stakeholder workgroup.

(B) For purposes of this paragraph, an eligible grantee is a city, county, or tribe, or a department of a city, county, or tribe, including, but not limited to, departments of social services, disability services, health services, public health, or behavioral health. Law enforcement agencies and organizations are not eligible grantees.

(3) Each grantee shall receive a minimum award of two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) per year.

(4) (A) Funds awarded pursuant to this chapter shall be utilized to create and strengthen community-based alternatives to law enforcement to lessen the reliance on law enforcement agencies as first responders to crisis situations unrelated to a fire department or emergency medical service response.

(B) Community-based alternatives may include, but are not limited to, providing mobile crisis response teams or community para-medicine programs. Community-based alternatives shall not include law enforcement officers or agencies as first responders or coresponders.

(5) The department shall prioritize grantees that propose interventions that serve historically marginalized populations and that serve communities with a demonstrated need for community-based alternatives to law enforcement, as evidenced by metrics, including, a high record of police use of force, a high volume of civilian complaints, high rates of imprisonment, and racial profiling.

(b) (1) Grantees shall award 90 percent or more of the grant funds to one or more qualifying community-based organizations, to create and strengthen community-based alternatives to law enforcement as described in paragraph (4) of subdivision (a). No more than 10 percent of the grant funds shall be used to support program administration of the grantee.

(2) Grantees shall publicly solicit partnerships with community-based organizations. This public solicitation shall include, but not limited to, all of the following:

(A) Issuing a public notice and invitation to create a partnership to establish a program pursuant to this chapter.

(B) Inviting letters of intent from community-based organizations.

(C) Convening public meetings to hear questions, concerns, and suggestions from the community that would inform the development of the program.

(3) Grantees shall prioritize the awarding of program funds to qualified community-based organizations that demonstrate the capacity to lead the proposed program and demonstrate experience providing community-based alternatives to law enforcement or civilian crisis response in the communities listed in paragraph (5) of subdivision (a). This includes, but is not limited to, the ability to do any of the following:

(A) Respond to emergency calls.

(B) Provide treatment, screening, and assessment.

(C) Provide stabilization and deescalation services.

(D) Coordinate with health, social services, and other support services, as needed.

(E) Maintain relationships with relevant community partners, including a range of community organizers, and medical, behavioral health, and crisis providers.

(4) A grantee and the community-based organization that receives funds may collaborate on program planning and implementation of community-based alternatives to law enforcement, including, but not limited to, any of the following:

(A) Local stakeholder engagement.

(B) Mechanisms for response requests.

(C) Crisis response activities.

(D) Crisis response followup, including coordination with local services and supports, tracking service delivery data, and submitting grant reports.

(c) A grantee shall report at least annually to the department on the use of program funding, which shall include data reporting on clients served and program outcomes, as determined by the department in consultation with stakeholder workgroup.

(d) (1) The department shall convene a stakeholder workgroup to make recommendations to the department regarding implementation of the program. The department shall convene regular meetings with the stakeholder workgroup in which the workgroup shall do all of the following:

(A) Provide input regarding criteria for qualified grantees.

(B) Provide best practices and program recommendations.

(C) Provide consultation on implementation and priorities for technical assistance.

(D) Identify barriers to implementation and suggest solutions to address those barriers.

(E) Recommend anonymous data to be collected.

(F) Collaboratively review data and program outcomes.

(G) Advise on the design of the evaluation.

(2) (A) The members of the stakeholder workgroup shall include, but not be limited to, a minimum of one of each of the following individuals:

(i) Emergency medical system practitioners with experience providing community-based, trauma-informed, culturally competent care, deescalation strategies, and harm reduction support.

(ii) Public health or behavioral health practitioners with specific experience in community health and an understanding of health care, mental health services, trauma-informed, culturally competent care, deescalation strategies, and harm reduction support.

(iii) Members of the public, who have survived an emergency or crisis, and have used community-based services in response to the emergency or crisis.

(iv) Survivors of police brutality.

(v) Surviving family members of someone who has been subject to use of force resulting in death or serious bodily injury by a law enforcement officer.

(B) The stakeholder workgroup shall not include current or former law enforcement officers or immediate family members of law enforcement officers.

(e) The department shall issue a public report, to be posted on its internet website six months following the end of the program, on the programmatic and fiscal savings associated with the program, key conclusions, populations served and the benefits conferred or realized, using quantitative and qualitative data, and resulting policy recommendations to provide guidance to the Legislature and Governor in fully implementing and scaling a permanent program.

(Added by Stats. 2021, Ch. 694, Sec. 2. (AB 118) Effective January 1, 2022. Repealed as of June 30, 2026, pursuant to Sec. 18999.95.)