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2021 Connect and Protect Law Enforcement Behavioral Health Response Program / Mental Illness / Substance Abuse / Department of Justice / Grant Award

Council File 22-0282

Under review — Council is weighing whether to extend a federal mental-health response program through September 2026, after operational delays pushed it past its original deadline. The committees need to sign off on accepting extra time and adjusting the research contract.

Introduced
2022-03-09
Last changed
2026-06-25
Status
open
Expires
2028-06-24
Committee
Budget and Finance Committee
Initiated by
Board of Police Commissioners
References
Board Report: 22-040; 23-185City Administrative Officer Report: 0130-02118-0000; 0130-02118-0001; 0130-02118-0002; 0130-02118-0003

Brief

The Board of Police Commissioners requested authorization for the Chief of Police to accept a 2021 Connect and Protect grant from the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance, which funds law enforcement responses to mental illness and substance abuse calls. Council adopted the initial grant authorization in August 2022. The file has since moved through multiple budget modification cycles, with the City Administrative Officer submitting updates in October 2023 and December 2024. The most recent council action occurred April 1, 2025 (14-0-1 vote). The file remains open pending further Budget and Finance Committee review of the most recent CAO report submitted June 18, 2026.

Full summary

The Connect and Protect program is a $550,000 federal grant from the Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance designed to help law enforcement agencies improve responses to people with mental illness or co-occurring substance use disorders. In Los Angeles, the grant funds the LAPD's Mental Evaluation Unit (MEU), a co-response model that pairs sworn officers with mental health clinicians from the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health. The MEU focuses specifically on high-frequency users of emergency services — individuals with the highest call volumes, greatest risk factors, and in some cases dangerous behavior — and tries to connect them with treatment rather than cycling them through emergency services repeatedly. The Board of Police Commissioners initiated this file in March 2022 to authorize the Chief of Police to retroactively apply for and accept the grant. The grant originally covered October 1, 2021 through September 30, 2024. Council authorized acceptance of the award in August 2022, and subsequent actions in late 2023 and early 2025 addressed budget modifications as program needs evolved. Throughout implementation, the MEU encountered significant obstacles: difficulty engaging high-risk individuals, officer attrition that brought LAPD sworn staffing to its lowest level since 1995, personnel transitions within the Case Assessment Management Program (CAMP) unit, and the January 2025 Los Angeles fires, which diverted personnel and resources away from grant activities. These factors collectively delayed full program operations well beyond the original timeline. Because of those delays, the Department of Justice approved a one-year no-cost extension stretching the grant period to September 30, 2026 — making it a five-year program in total with no additional federal funding. The June 2026 City Administrative Officer report now before committee asks Council to formally authorize the Chief of Police to accept that extension and to amend the LAPD's contract with its research partner, Justice and Security Strategies, Inc., to align with the new end date. Justice and Security Strategies is responsible for data collection, performance metrics, strategic planning support, and the final program evaluation. As of December 2024, roughly $405,000 of the $550,000 award remained unspent, and the extension carries no additional cost to the City's General Fund. The remaining work under the extension includes completing outreach to a second cohort of high-frequency users, finalizing data collection, and producing a comprehensive evaluation report assessing the CAMP unit's impact on the target population. That report is intended to serve as a model for other law enforcement agencies nationally. The CAO's June 2026 report was referred to the Budget and Finance and Public Safety committees on June 25, 2026, where it awaits action.

Activity (33)

  • 2026-06-25 City Administrative Officer document(s) referred to Budget and Finance Committee; Public Safety Committee.
  • 2026-06-24 Document submitted by the Mayor, City Administrative Officer report dated June 18, 2026.
  • 2025-04-10 Council action final.
  • 2025-04-02 City Clerk transmitted file to Mayor. Last day for Mayor to act is April 14, 2025.
  • 2025-04-01 Council adopted item, subject to reconsideration, pursuant to Council Rule 51.
  • 2025-03-28 City Clerk scheduled item for Council on April 1, 2025.
  • 2025-03-04 Budget and Finance concurred with Public Safety Committee action of February 5, 2025.
  • 2025-02-28 Budget and Finance Committee scheduled item for committee meeting on March 4, 2025.
  • 2025-02-05 Public Safety Committee transmitted Council File to Budget and Finance Committee.
  • 2025-02-05 Public Safety Committee approved item(s) .
  • 2025-01-31 Public Safety Committee scheduled item for committee meeting on February 5, 2025.
  • 2024-12-24 City Administrative Officer document(s) referred to Budget and Finance Committee; Public Safety Committee.
  • 2024-12-20 Document(s) submitted by Mayor, as follows:City Administrative Officer report, dated December 17, 2024, relative to the 2021 Connect and Protect - Law Enforcement Behavioral Health Response Program grant.
  • 2023-11-27 Council action final.
  • 2023-11-15 City Clerk transmitted file to Mayor. Last day for Mayor to act is November 27, 2023.
  • 2023-11-14 Council adopted item forthwith.
  • 2023-11-09 City Clerk scheduled item for Council on November 14, 2023.
  • 2023-10-24 Public Safety Committee approved item(s) .
  • 2023-10-20 Public Safety Committee scheduled item for committee meeting on October 24, 2023.
  • 2023-10-19 City Administrative Officer document(s) referred to Public Safety Committee.
  • 2023-10-19 Document(s) submitted by City Administrative Officer, as follows:City Administrative Officer report 0130-02118-0001, dated October 19, 2023, relative to budget modifications for the 2021 Connect and Protect - Law Enforcement Behavioral Health Response Program grant.
  • 2023-09-27 Board of Police Commissioners document(s) referred to Public Safety Committee.
  • 2023-09-26 Document(s) submitted by Board of Harbor Commissioners, as follows:Board of Police Commissioners report, dated September 22, 2023, relative to modifying the grant budget for the 2021 Connect and Protect Law Enforcement Behavioral Health Response Program.
  • 2022-09-07 Council action final.
  • 2022-08-30 City Clerk transmitted file to Mayor. Last day for Mayor to act is September 9, 2022.
  • 2022-08-26 Council adopted item, subject to reconsideration, pursuant to Council Rule 51.
  • 2022-08-23 City Clerk scheduled item for Council on August 26, 2022.
  • 2022-08-03 Public Safety Committee approved item(s) .
  • 2022-07-29 City Administrative Officer document(s) referred to Public Safety Committee.
  • 2022-07-29 Public Safety Committee scheduled item for committee meeting on August 3, 2022.
  • 2022-07-27 Document(s) submitted by City Administrative Officer, as follows:City Administrative Officer report 0130-02118-0000, dated July 27, 2022, relative to the Board of Police Commissioners request to authorize the Chief of Police to retroactively apply for and accept a 2021 Connect and Protect Law Enforcement Behavioral Health Response Program grant from the United States Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance.
  • 2022-03-10 Board of Police Commissioners document(s) referred to Public Safety Committee.
  • 2022-03-09 Document(s) submitted by Board of Police Commissioners, as follows:Board of Police Commissioners report 22-040, dated March 1, 2022, relative to the grant application and award for the 2021 Connect and Protect Law Enforcement Behavioral Health Response Program.

Documents (17)

Council votes (1)

  • 2025-04-01 Adopted — 14-0-1 · Regular

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