Novato to hire crisis team to complement police force

Novato is bringing on a new specialized emergency response team.

The City Council unanimously approved a contract Tuesday to fund the first year of a five-year pilot program called Specialized Assistance For Everyone. It is run through a nonprofit, the Petaluma People Services Center.

The agreement stems from a national shift to supplement traditional law enforcement with specialized service centers, according to a city staff report.

“We’re really excited to be entering this partnership with them,” police Chief Jim Naugle said. “While my officers do an excellent job on those calls, sometimes there are situations where even we could use a little help. Things are little outside of our scope or just a little bit different than things we can do, and especially these situations that don’t rise to a criminal nature.”

The crisis team will share space with the Police Department and respond to 911 calls related to mental health crises, substance abuse issues and homelessness. Service calls could be related to domestic abuse survivors, welfare checks, counseling requests, suicide intervention, death notifications and dispute intervention.

The team would reduce the burden on police and fire services while providing specialized care related to those issues. Municipalities that use the program have seen a 10% decrease in police calls for service, the staff report said.

The cost of the program in fiscal year 2024-25 is $548,713, which includes $53,000 in one-time startup costs taken from the general fund for expenses such as repurposing a van and stocking up supplies. Personnel expenses are estimated at $461,000 and operating expenses at $34,600, which will be paid for by American Rescue Plan Act funds.

Aziz Majid, director of the Specialized Assistance For Everyone program, said the team responded to about 70% of all calls between 2021 and 2024 alone, and about 30% of the calls with police officers if there is a safety threat, like a weapon.

“When someone doesn’t know what to do if they need help, they turn to 911,” Majid said. “Sometimes that’s not the most appropriate line to request help, but that’s just what it is in our public safety system.”

The program has fielded more than 25,000 calls across all its jurisdictions. About 80% of the calls were resolved in the field, and 20% required transportation to places like clinics, shelters and hospitals. The program has diverted 783 cases from emergency departments, 496 from jails and 796 from ambulance services.

The team also does community outreach to build trust with residents. Majid said another benefit of the center is its ability to connect people directly with in-house services like therapy or meal delivery. He said the center works closely with local service providers, but it can be more efficient to connect directly to the center’s services.

“We have all the programs and resources in place,” Majid said. “So it prevents a lot of upstream connection.”

For the first year, the program would operate from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Two-person response teams include a crisis counselor and a medic.

Councilmember Susan Wernick asked how the city will pay for the service after the first year. Assistant City Manager Jessica Deakyne said there are shared-cost opportunities through the savings many hospitals get from diversions, as well as interested partners in the fire and hospital sectors.

“I am really excited about this program,” Councilmember Pat Eklund said. “Novato is a senior community, and there is a lot of seniors that I know personally that have had issues at night and they don’t necessarily need a police officer but they need help.”

City staff and the center will report to the City Council in six months on how the service is going and if more staff is needed. The center will also give monthly reports. The service is expected to start in early 2025.