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←Executive Committee · 2021-01-27 · 2021.EX20.1

The filed record

Community Crisis Support Service Pilot

The Public Gallery wrote no story on this item. What follows is the city’s own record of what happened to it, as filed: nothing on this page is summarised or scored by us.

The decision

2021-02-02 · Toronto City Council · amended

As filed

City Council on February 2, 3 and 5, 2021, adopted the following: 1. City Council endorse the 2022 implementation of four community crisis support service pilots as outlined in Attachment 1, Framework to Pilot the Community Crisis Support Service and Attachment 2, Map of the Proposed Community Crisis Support Service, to the report (January 13, 2021) from the City Manager. 2. City Council direct that a guiding principle of the Community Crisis Support Service is that the Service will be the primary first responder to mental health crisis calls received during the pilot program and subsequent to full implementation.

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3. City Council request the Federal and Provincial Governments to provide matching funds for the expansion of the Community Crisis Support Service Pilots. 4. City Council request that the Province commit to providing permanent and sustainable funding for: a. supportive housing for those experiencing mental health or substance use issues; and b. mental health services generally, including funding for community mental health service providers to support crisis response and wrap-around services, as well as funding to address the mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. 5. City Council request the Province of Ontario to financially support the implementation and expansion of the Community Crisis Support Services Pilot by adequately investing to close the service gaps in mental health services and addiction recovery programs, including detox beds and broad options for affordable and supportive housing. 6. City Council direct the City Manager to conduct public consultations to refine the proposed community crisis support service pilot for implementation, engaging residents, community organizations, and Indigenous, Black and equity-deserving communities. 7. City Council request the City Manager to ensure that the next round of public consultations includes community groups who reflect all of the demographics of the pilot areas. 8. City Council request the Executive Director, Social Development, Finance, and Administration to ensure that all education campaigns and materials related to the Crisis Response Pilots be available in multiple languages. 9. City Council authorize the Executive Director, Social Development, Finance and Administration to enter into and administer agreement(s) to provide pilot funds to successful anchor community partners of the Request for Proposals process, other service providers or individuals, subject to the approval of funding through the 2021 Budget process, on the terms and conditions satisfactory to the Executive Director, Social Development, Finance and Administration and in a form acceptable to the City Solicitor. 10. City Council request the Auditor General to prioritize her planned 2021 audit of the Toronto Police Service's 911 operations. 11. City Council request the Toronto Police Services Board to direct the Chief of Police, to consult with the City, to: a. support the implementation of four community crisis support service pilots; b. amend any necessary policies, practices, procedures and other governance to integrate referral to a community crisis support service to the 911 call centre as a dispatch option; c. train 911 call-taker staff about the pilot and its objectives; and d. analyze and share on the City's Open Data Portal and report out on: call diversion data, separated into calls diverted to Mobile Crisis Intervention Teams, and the community crisis support service, and available outcomes and geographic distribution of the calls. 12. City Council direct the City Manager, in consultation with the City Solicitor, the Auditor General, and the Chief of Police, through the Toronto Police Services Board Office, to report to the Executive Committee no later than the end of the fourth quarter of 2021 on the Toronto Police Service's 911 operations, including: a. an overview of the current 911 operations; b. the municipal, provincial or federal legal and regulatory framework that applies to the delivery, management, and supervision of 911 operations; and c. an analysis of the feasibility of moving 911 operations from the Toronto Police Service to a non-police City service, including any impacts on cost, service delivery and community safety, and informed by any findings made by the Auditor General in the context of her audit(s) of the Toronto Police Service, including options to enhance integration, alignment and coordination of various services that can be dispatched as a means of providing the most appropriate response to a 911 call, including but not limited to calls related to persons in distress. 13. City Council direct the City Manager to consult with the Toronto Police Service Board and the Toronto Police Chief on the potential reallocation of funds from the Toronto Police Service budget to ensure that the funding of the Community Crisis Support Services Pilot will not result in new financial burden to Toronto residents and to report the outcomes of this consultation through the City's budget process. 14. City Council direct the City Manager to continue to engage the Inspector General of Policing and forward updates and communications from the Inspectorate on its work related to police oversight as part of future City reports to Council on policing reform . 15. City Council request the City Manager to engage in consultations with the Province of Ontario on regulations under the Community Safety and Policing Act, 2019, guided by City Council's decisions including related to police reform, the potential impact on the City, and objectives to: a. enhance public trust and confidence in police services; b. strengthen the alignment of municipal and policing strategic and operational objectives; and c. promote alternatives to the use of police officers where appropriate. 16. City Council request the City Manager to report back to City Council on the Community Safety and Policing Act, 2019, and regulations under the Act, once the regulations are developed and publicly available. 17. City Council direct the City Manager to explore any and all options, including working with community mental health partners, to expedite the implementation of the crisis response pilot and to report to the Executive Committee in the fourth quarter of 2021 on opportunities to scale up the program earlier than 2025 if proven effective. 18. City Council direct the City Manager to report in the fourth quarter of 2021 on the feasibility of developing other options for non-police interventions with vulnerable people, including scaling up existing community health and social service providers, while prioritizing the implementation of the Community Crisis Support Service Pilot. 19. City Council direct the Executive Director, Social Development, Finance and Administration to immediately begin developing a more extensive and systematic multi-year plan to reassign interventions with vulnerable people from the police to more appropriate local services, such plan to include the following: a. a broader range of interventions with vulnerable people in non-violent situations that goes beyond mental health crisis calls and includes interventions with homeless people, youth engaged in non-criminal, non-violent activities, and other safety matters on the scale and scope used in Eugene, Oregon's Crisis Assistance Helping out on the Streets (CAHOOTS) program; b. interventions in communities across the City; c. strategies for adequate staffing and funding of those services to meet the needs of vulnerable people, both in the interventions and the wraparound supports and services they require; and d. a detailed review of the ongoing potential budgetary impact of these changes on the Toronto Police Service budget and the budgets of relevant services; and to report in October 2021 on the development of this plan in conjunction with the Community Crisis Support Service Pilot update report. 20. City Council request the General Manager, Social Development, Finance and Administration to report back at the end of the year as part of the work that is currently underway on the resources necessary to undertake a feasibility study of establishing an additional Community Crisis Response Team pilot operated by the City of Toronto, with a focus on utilizing an existing City-owned facility such as an Emergency Medical Services station. 21. City Council direct the Executive Director, Social Development, Finance and Administration to report annually on the appropriate levels needed to address the gaps in matching client referrals to services, and not limited to the categories of supportive housing, affordable housing, emergency shelter services, mental health services, and addiction recovery programs, including detox beds.

The vote

Adopt Item as Amended · Carried, 26-0

For (26)Ana Bailão, Anthony Perruzza, Brad Bradford, Cynthia Lai, Denzil Minnan-Wong, Frances Nunziata, Gary Crawford, Gord Perks, James Pasternak, Jaye Robinson, Jennifer McKelvie, Joe Cressy, John Filion, John Tory, Josh Matlow, Kristyn Wong-Tam, Mark Grimes, Michael Ford, Michael Thompson, Mike Colle, Mike Layton, Nick Mantas, Paul Ainslie, Paula Fletcher, Shelley Carroll, Stephen Holyday
The whole record, all 26 members

Every name opens that member’s record.

On the agenda

As the city filed it

This report responds to the direction from City Council at its meeting of June 29 and 30, 2020 (CC22.2) for the City Manager to develop a non-police led, alternative community safety response model for calls involving Torontonians in crisis. Over the past five years, the Toronto Police Service has seen a 32.4 percent increase in "person in crisis" calls. These types of calls are defined by a person experiencing a temporary breakdown of coping skills.

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Underinvestment in mental health treatment over several decades has meant that more people with mental illness are not receiving the supports they need and are falling into distress, resulting in increased interactions with police, who have essentially become default first responders of the mental healthcare system for those experiencing crisis. However, using law enforcement to address health issues creates service barriers and risks for many Torontonians, particularly Indigenous, Black, and equity-deserving communities. Systemic discrimination in Toronto has negatively impacted how these communities experience community safety. Evidence of disproportionate use of force including deadly force, invasive searches, and greater surveillance on Indigenous, Black, and equity-deserving communities has impacted community trust and confidence in a police-led response for those experiencing a health crisis. Residents, communities and organizations have called on the City of Toronto to reimagine a new model of response that is client-centred, trauma-informed, and reduces harm. From October to December 2020, staff from Social Development, Finance and Administration Division supported 33 community roundtables in partnership with 17 community partners, conducted 29 interviews with subject matter experts, completed two public surveys and an opinion research poll of a representative sample of Torontonians, and reviewed promising practices of 53 crisis response models found in jurisdictions across Canada and internationally. The Toronto Police Service has been engaged throughout the process to strive for alignment across institutions. This report proposes piloting a new community crisis support service in Toronto for some non-emergency calls for service. Mobile crisis support teams comprising of a multidisciplinary team of crisis workers with crisis intervention and de-escalation training will be dispatched to respond to non-emergency crisis calls involving person in crisis, wellness checks and other calls to be determined. Community health service partners will become anchor partners to ensure that adaptive and service-user centred care continues after the initial crisis intervention. From 2022-2025, the community crisis support service will be piloted in the City's Northwest, Northeast and Downtown East. In consultation with Indigenous-led organizations and leaders, an Indigenous-led pilot that reflects the rights of Indigenous communities to self-determination and self-governance will also be developed. Community partnerships, public education, pilot governance, monitoring and evaluation will support the City and our partners to build and implement an effective service, with a view to full scale implementation in 2026. Pilot development costs of $1.7 million have been included in the Recommended 2021 Operating Budget for Social Development, Finance and Administration. In 2021, City staff will refine the pilot model, build the governance and evaluation framework, select anchor partners, and launch public education to prepare residents to use the new service. The City Manager will provide an update to City Council on the selected anchor partners, the status of pilot, and next steps in the fourth quarter 2021. To realize the full potential of the proposed community crisis support service, intergovernmental investment into mental health, substance use services and other supportive services are required. An effective, responsive and robust mental health support system needs to exist within the city and the broader region to provide individuals the necessary wrap around services beyond the initial crisis intervention. This report: - Summarizes the consultation and expert feedback and best practices that have informed the proposed community crisis support service. - Provides details on development and implementation of the proposed community crisis support service. - Provides an update on additional City Council directions related to item CC22.2 including the status of legislative changes that City Council requested to the Province of Ontario. - Provides recommendations for City staff to engage in the development of regulations under the Community Safety and Policing Act, 2019.

Staff recommended

The City Manager recommends that: 1. City Council endorse the 2022 implementation of four community crisis support service pilots as outlined in Attachment 1 - Framework to Pilot the Community Crisis Support Service and Attachment 2 - Map of the Proposed Community Crisis Support Service. 2. City Council direct the City Manager to conduct public consultations to refine the proposed community crisis support service pilot for implementation, engaging residents, community organizations, and Indigenous, Black and equity-deserving communities.

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3. City Council authorize the Executive Director, Social Development, Finance and Administration to enter into and administer agreement(s) to provide pilot funds to successful anchor community partners of the Request for Proposals process, other service providers or individuals, subject to the approval of funding through the 2021 Budget process, on the terms and conditions satisfactory to the Executive Director, Social Development, Finance & Administration and in a form acceptable to the City Solicitor. 4. City Council request the Toronto Police Services Board to direct the Chief of Police, to consult with the City, to: a. Support the implementation of four community crisis support service pilots. b. Amend any necessary policies, practices, procedures and other governance to integrate referral to a community crisis support service to the 911 call centre as a dispatch option. c. Train 911 call-taker staff about the pilot and its objectives. d. Analyze and share on the City's Open Data Portal and report out on: call diversion data, separated into calls diverted to Mobile Crisis Intervention Teams , and the community crisis support service, and available outcomes and geographic distribution of the calls. 5. City Council request the City Manager engage in consultations with the Province of Ontario on regulations under the Community Safety and Policing Act, 2019, guided by Council's decisions including related to police reform, the potential impact on the City, and objectives to: a. Enhance public trust and confidence in police services. b. Strengthen the alignment of municipal and policing strategic and operational objectives. c. Promote alternatives to the use of police officers where appropriate. 6. City Council request the City Manager to report back to City Council on the Community Safety and Policing Act, 2019, and regulations under the Act, once the regulations are developed and publicly available.

Considered

  • 2021-01-27 · Executive Committee · amended

    Decision as filed

    The Executive Committee recommends that: 1. City Council endorse the 2022 implementation of four community crisis support service pilots as outlined in Attachment 1, Framework to Pilot the Community Crisis Support Service and Attachment 2, Map of the Proposed Community Crisis Support Service, to the report (January 13, 2021) from the City Manager. 2. City Council direct that a guiding principle of the Community Crisis Support Service is that the Service will be the primary first responder to mental health crisis calls received during the pilot program and subsequent to full implementation.

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    3. City Council direct the City Manager to conduct public consultations to refine the proposed community crisis support service pilot for implementation, engaging residents, community organizations, and Indigenous, Black and equity-deserving communities. 4. City Council authorize the Executive Director, Social Development, Finance and Administration to enter into and administer agreement(s) to provide pilot funds to successful anchor community partners of the Request for Proposals process, other service providers or individuals, subject to the approval of funding through the 2021 Budget process, on the terms and conditions satisfactory to the Executive Director, Social Development, Finance and Administration and in a form acceptable to the City Solicitor. 5. City Council request the Toronto Police Services Board to direct the Chief of Police, to consult with the City, to: a. support the implementation of four community crisis support service pilots; b. amend any necessary policies, practices, procedures and other governance to integrate referral to a community crisis support service to the 911 call centre as a dispatch option; c. train 911 call-taker staff about the pilot and its objectives; and d. analyze and share on the City's Open Data Portal and report out on: call diversion data, separated into calls diverted to Mobile Crisis Intervention Teams, and the community crisis support service, and available outcomes and geographic distribution of the calls. 6. City Council request the City Manager to engage in consultations with the Province of Ontario on regulations under the Community Safety and Policing Act, 2019, guided by City Council's decisions including related to police reform, the potential impact on the City, and objectives to: a. enhance public trust and confidence in police services; b. strengthen the alignment of municipal and policing strategic and operational objectives; and c. promote alternatives to the use of police officers where appropriate. 7. City Council request the City Manager to report back to City Council on the Community Safety and Policing Act, 2019, and regulations under the Act, once the regulations are developed and publicly available.

    Clerk’s note

    The Executive Director, Social Development, Finance and Administration gave a presentation on Policing Reform: Community Crisis Support Service.

  • 2021-02-02 · Toronto City Council · amended

On the record

The item as the City filed it

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