Item #4 - DRAFT FY25-26 Budget Recommendation — original pdf

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DOWNTOWN AUSTIN COMMUNITY COURT ADVISORY BOARD RECOMMENDATION 20250328-004A Date: Subject: March 28, 2025 Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Budget Recommendations for Downtown Austin Community Court Motioned By: Seconded By: Introduction The DACC Advisory Board would like to thank the Austin City Council for its exceptional support of DACC, especially within the last two years. Investments in housing-focused Clinical Case Managers and social service dollars for wraparound supports, expanding DACC’s jurisdiction, and the implementation of DACC’s Mobile Court have had an immense impact for the people DACC serves and the community overall. DACC has made great strides forward this year and also continues to see significant demand for their services. Keeping in mind the anticipated limitations the City faces in the Fiscal Year 2025-26 budget process, and the urgency of top need for DACC, the DACC Advisory Board is focusing budget recommendations this year on one item to continue a critical grant-funded rapid rehousing and case management program that’s at risk of ending without investments from the City. Losing the 6 case management FTEs and associated programmatic funding would have detrimental impacts that would ripple across all of DACC’s Homeless Services and their ability to serve as part of the City’s emergency response system at the current level provided. Recommendations: 1. Fiscal Year 2025-26 Priority: $2,187,348 of ongoing funding in Fiscal Year 2026-27 budget for six grant-funded clinical case managers and programmatic funding to continue connecting clients to long-term, stable housing. 2. Future Considerations: Plan for ongoing funding to augment DACC’s Intensive Case Management capacity by adding two housing-focused case manager FTEs and corresponding programmatic funding to continue connecting clients to housing. Description of Recommendation to Council Category 1: Support for City Council Initiatives 1. $2,187,348 of ongoing funding in Fiscal Year 2026-27 budget for six grant-funded clinical case managers and programmatic funding to continue connecting clients to housing. Six FTEs, including 5 housing-focused Clinical Case Managers and 1 Clinical Case Manager Supervisor, and funding for housing expenses for clients served by these case managers were initially funded by Emergency Solutions Grants – CARES Act funding, which ended in 2022. These staff and programmatic expenses are now funded by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), which was previously slated to end in December 2024. Grant terms have been updated to permit expenditures through the end of 2026; however, there is only enough remaining ARPA funding to cover this program through the end of 2025. Ongoing funding should be identified for these staff and resources to maintain current service capacity of serving approximately 100 individuals per year. If ongoing funds through the City are allocated in the fiscal year 2025-26 budget, continuity for the case management and housing resources would be ensured. Justification for this request includes:  Directly responsive to Council Resolution 20250130-083: This Resolution called for, “Starting with the Fiscal Year 2025-2026 budget,” to, “explore sustainable funding sources, partnerships, and opportunities to prioritize ongoing investments in a balanced homelessness response system,” including but not limited to identifying, “which homelessness programs that are currently funded by ARPA should continue and how they will be funded.”  Longstanding Board consideration: Understanding the need for this service capacity at DACC and for Austin’s broader Homelessness Response System, as well as the planning required for this size of an investment, the Board has identified this upcoming need in our last four budget recommendations as follows: o Item 6 in the Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Budget Recommendation o Item 2 in the Fiscal Year 2023-2024 Budget Recommendation o Item 3 in the Fiscal Year 2022-2023 Budget Recommendations o Item 3 in the Fiscal Year 2021-2022 Budget Recommendations  Fully staffed program with active clients: All six positions with this program are currently filled, with active clients being served on caseloads, some working toward gaining connection to safe and stable housing and others who have been housed and rely on the program for housing expenses and continued case management services. Some case managers with the program have been with DACC for multiple years and bring valuable expertise that benefit DACC clients, as well as the department. Without these staff, capacity to continue case managing the individuals currently served, along with funding for ongoing housing expenses, would drop off abruptly..  Impact to DACC’s Homeless Services Unit and Walk-in Services: All of DACC’s Clinical Case Managers across the Homeless Services Unit, including these grant-funded staff, are masters-level clinicians. To ensure seamless operations, there is cross-training and shared responsibilities across all staff, including helping with coverage for DACC’s Walk-in Case Management Services, which serve over 60 people per day. This avoids soaring wait times and potential clients being turned away due to capacity issues when assigned Walk-in Case Management staff are sick, on vacation, or training. If these 6 FTEs are no longer part of DACC’s team, service availability will be affected across all case managers’ caseloads, reducing the time they have to work with their clients working toward obtaining safe and stable housing.  DACC’s role as part of City’s emergency response system: DACC has proven to be a pillar of Austin’s emergency response system for serving unhoused individuals in times of crisis. DACC was one of the only local services providers for unhoused individuals that maintained in-person services throughout the pandemic, including adjusting services in real time to meet the evolving needs. COVID exposed the immense need for human power as part of our response efforts, and those needs continue today. In addition, DACC plays a vital role in the City’s response to extreme weather events. DACC serves as the sole embarkation hub that coordinates registration, crowd care, and connection to transportation for individuals seeking a safe place to sleep when Cold Weather Shelters (CWS) are activated. Most nights DACC serves 200-300 people, but those numbers can be much higher. For example, DACC served almost 450 people during the CWS activation on February 19, 2025. The Board would like to express deep gratitude for the DACC staff who stay late, and acknowledge that thanks to their services, the community can stay home, safe and warm with their families, and know that our unhoused neighbors are getting high quality care. The Board urges Council to recognize this tremendous contribution by DACC and the urgency of ensuring it is not reduced in future years as our changing climate continues to test the City’s emergency response infrastructure. 2. Future Considerations: Plan for approximately $729,116 of ongoing funding to augment DACC’s Intensive Case Management capacity by adding two clinical case manager FTEs and corresponding programmatic funding to continue connecting clients to housing. Consistent with DACC’s five-year plan to expand staff sustainably each year to address growing needs for services over time, these funds would enable DACC to hire two housing- focused case manager positions, along with an additional vehicle and corresponding social service dollars per case manager. On average over the last several years, DACC has consistently had a waitlist of between 200-300 people wanting to engage in housing-focused Intensive Case Management services, which has increased further in the last year. Council has fulfilled this request the last two budget cycles to help DACC respond to the growing need for services in the community and work toward the five-year staffing plan. Understanding the urgency of continuing the ARPA-funded program identified in item 1, the Board is highlighting this as an ongoing priority for future budget years but asking that priority be given to retaining existing staff and programmatic funding. Please see Item 2 in the Board’s Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Budget Recommendation for more context around this request. Rationale: DACC is serving Austin’s most marginalized residents and stabilizing their lives to the benefit of the entire Austin community. The Downtown Austin Community Court Advisory Board wholeheartedly and enthusiastically supports DACC’s services and its request for resources to continue assisting its clients. The Downtown Austin Community Court Advisory Board urges City Council to allocate funds and explore all available means to avoid setbacks, to maintain and ultimately increase DACC’s efforts over time to address homelessness in Austin. Vote For: Against: Abstain: Absent: Attest:  DOWNTOWN AUSTIN COMMUNITY COURT ADVISORY BOARD RECOMMENDATION 20250328-004B March 28, 2025 Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Budget Recommendations for Community Programs Date: Subject: Motioned By: Seconded By: Introduction The Downtown Austin Community Court Advisory Board’s highest priority this budget cycle is discussed in Recommendation 20250328-004A. The Board also wants to recommend continuation of two critical community initiatives whose contracts are funded and managed by DACC, both of which strengthen connection to mental health services and are key components of Austin’s diversion efforts, including those directly served by DACC. These programs include the Therapeutic Diversion Program component of the Mental Health Diversion Pilot1 and continuation of 24/7 operations for the Expanded Mobile Crisis Outreach Team. The most recent Point in Time Count results from 2023 approximated that about 31% of the total population in the Travis County Jail were likely to be experiencing homelessness. Of these individuals, 67% were people of color. Advancing these programs helps improve equitable access to services, while taking an evidence-based and person-centered approach to addressing the intersections between homelessness, criminal justice involvement, and mental health needs. Both of these programs were funded in Fiscal Year 2024-25 with one-time funding, but the community need for these programs continues. Without additional investment from the City of Austin, these critical services for the Austin community will be negatively impacted. The Board recommends Council identify funding to ensure both programs are able to continue at full capacity. Recommendations 1. $2,000,000 annually in Fiscal Years 2025-26 and 2026-27 for the Therapeutic Diversion Program component of the Mental Health Diversion Pilot 2. Ongoing funding to continue 24/7 operations for the Expanded Mobile Crisis Outreach Team (EMCOT) Description of Recommendation to Council 1. $2,000,000 funding annually Fiscal Years 2025-26 and 2026-27 for the Therapeutic Diversion Program (TDP). The Mental Health Diversion Pilot is a collaboration between Central Health, the City of Austin, Integral Care, and Travis County, which leverages existing 1 This program is now referred to as the Crisis Care Diversion Pilot; more information on the Pilot is available here. programs and facilities to immediately address unmet deflection and diversion needs through provision of critical services for individuals experiencing a mental health crisis. This Pilot, designed to be a three-year program, needs $2 million in City funding in FY 2025-26 and FY 2026-27 to continue at full capacity. The TDP component of the Mental Health Diversion Pilot, funded by the City and Travis County, with services provided by Integral Care, provides approximately 90 days of inpatient care including behavioral health services, peer support, and working toward connection to stable exit options through housing-focused case management services. Additional justification for this program includes:  Uninterrupted Services for Current Clients: TDP will be operating at full capacity providing inpatient services and helping to create linkages to programs that can provide long-term housing solutions for unhoused clients. If funding is not continued to keep this program whole, there will be service interruptions for individuals actively working toward addressing their mental health needs and resolving their experience with homelessness.  Data-Informed Program to Address Identified Community Need: This program stemmed from recommendations in the Travis County Forensic Mental Health Project Final Report, published after a 10-month extensive, data-driven process led by Dell Medical School including a broad array of community stakeholders and service providers working to, “find solutions for the large and growing number of people within the county jail needing care for mental health and/or substance use disorders.”  Informing Long-Term Mental Health Diversion Center: Lessons learned from the three-year Mental Health Diversion Pilot will help inform the broader community plans for a Mental Health Diversion Center, allowing providers to learn from challenges and to implement and improve upon program successes. 2. Ongoing funding to continue 24/7 field operations for EMCOT – This program has been serving the community by providing real-time response to and treatment for psychiatric crisis, diverting individuals from emergency rooms and jails, since 2013. During the Fiscal Year 2024-25 budget process, Council allocated funds to expand the EMCOT Field Response Team from 6:00am-10:00pm Mon.-Fri. and 10:00am-8:00pm Sat. and Sun. to 24 hours a day, seven days a week operations, with implementation beginning April 1, 2025. Data shared in the budget amendment passed by Council justifying this need includes:  Effective Outcomes: In FY 23, 86% of calls taken from a police response were diverted to a more appropriate resource, improving health outcomes and ensuring first responders can return to what they do best – responding to medical emergencies and public safety issues.  Increased Capacity to Respond to Calls: The current program only operates from 6am- 10pm Mon. – Fri., and 10am-8pm Sat. and Sun. This staffing model covers only 25% of APD calls, 40% of EMS calls, and 60% of calls at the 911 Call Center or Combined Transportation Emergency and Communication Center (CTECC). By contrast, 24/7 operations will support responding to approximately 75% of APD calls, 85% of EMS calls, and 80% of CTECC calls. EMCOT will respond to psychiatric calls that ATCEMS, APD, and other law enforcement jurisdictions receive; partner with a Community Health Paramedic; and provide up to 90 days of follow-up services to each individual served, reducing the likelihood of future crises.  Key City Resource Identified in Resolution 20250130-080: This Resolution, which is related to gathering data and developing recommendations around the City’s police and non-police responses to mental health related incidents, states: o “There is strong scientific and policy consensus that mental health is a major factor in multiple areas of government responsibility and plays a particularly critical role in public safety” o “The City has taken steps to rethink and reimagine how to best respond to mental health needs,” which includes, “the Expanded Mobile Crisis Outreach Team (EMCOT), which sends qualified mental health workers with specialized crisis intervention training to respond jointly with law enforcement and provide follow up services” o “Evidence and experience strongly supports the efficacy of such programs in providing more appropriate response to mental health needs and producing improved outcomes, along with a more efficient use of City resources” o “Council has taken a number of recent steps to further expand and support such programs,” which includes, “additional funding for EMCOT, call center clinicians, and Collaborative Care, with a goal of 24/7 coverage” Rationale: Both of these programs align with DACC’s mission and with our community values and goals around connecting individuals to appropriate care while supporting diversion from our jails and hospitals. Our community does not have the capacity to meet the full mental health crisis response need that exists; a decision not to fund these programs will expand that service gap. Additionally, both programs help first responders maximize limited resources by allowing them to return their focus more quickly to medical emergency and public safety call responses. Continuation of these services is vital to protect Austin’s service continuum around mental health services for all of Austin’s residents, inclusive of all types of housing status. While these programs are broader community initiatives that serve residents across the City of Austin, they also have immense benefit for DACC clients and play a key role in Austin’s Homelessness Response System. The Downtown Austin Community Court Advisory Board recommends that the City Council allocate funds to these vital community programs to ensure continued access to critical services and advance efforts around connection to appropriate services during mental health crises, supporting diversion from jails and hospitals while maximizing limited resources for our first responders. Vote For: Against: Abstain: Absent: Attest: