An Act to Create Alternatives for Community Emergency Services (S.1552 / H.2519)

                                                                                                        Full title: An Act to Create Alternatives for Community Emergency Services (ACES)

Shorthand title: ACES

Lead sponsors:  Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz & Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa

Committee: Joint Committee on Public Safety & Homeland Security

The Issue

In 2020, Massachusetts passed a police reform bill that created a standards and accreditation commission, put limits on the use of force, and took other steps to address systemic racism in law enforcement. But left out of the police reform bill was a simple realization: the best way to reduce the incidence of police brutality is to limit the scope of policing.

Too often, armed police officers are called in to respond to situations that they are not equipped to handle, situations that are better handled by someone with an expertise in social work or mental health or someone from the community itself. Shifting such calls away from police and towards alternative response programs ensures that situations do not escalate and that people can best be connected to the services that they need.

The Solution

This bill would direct the Executive Office of Health and Human Services to establish and oversee the Alternatives for Community Emergency Services Grant Program (A.C.E.S.) to increase the availability of non-law-enforcement, unarmed community-based response options for calls to 911.

Highlights

• Grants for municipalities to develop local systems for protecting the mental and physical well-being of residents, preventing violence, de-escalating volatile situations, ensuring access to human services, and reducing government use of force, in emergency and non-emergency situations that do not necessitate the presence of law enforcement personnel, or, where appropriate, the person requesting help requests a response from an alternative to law enforcement

• Timely evaluation to assess outcomes and costs (e.g., mental, physical, and behavioral health outcomes, impact on reduced demand for law enforcement response to 911 calls, and rate of successfully connecting residents with human services for which they present a need)

• Criteria for grants based on a board of community-based stakeholders including members designated by the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, the secretary of the Department of Mental Health, the Greater Boston Association of Black Social Workers, the Massachusetts Peer Support Network, Jane Doe Inc., and the Western Massachusetts Learning Community, and individuals receiving services from the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute and the Massachusetts Office of Addiction and Recovery.

• Grant-awarding to partnerships of a local government and a community-based organization, not the local government itself

• Within one year, evaluation conducted by an independent organization whose governing board or senior staff is comprised of members of impacted communities

Talking Points / Sample Tweets

• The best way to reduce police brutality is to limit police interactions. That’s why we need to fund and promote Alternative Community Emergency Services. #mapoli

• You don’t need an armed police officer to respond to a mental health episode. We need to enable cities and towns to create Alternative Community Emergency Services. #mapoli

• The American Rescue Plan authorized funding for alternative crisis programs. Massachusetts should embrace this opportunity to expand on police reform. #mapoli

• Police officers aren’t social workers or mental health workers. We need Alternative Community Emergency Services that focus on de-escalation and connecting people to services. #mapoli

• De-escalation training and requirements are important. But some calls shouldn’t be going to police at all. We need a plan for Alternative Community Emergency Services. #mapoli

• Not every 911 call needs a police officer. In fact, most don’t -- and would benefit from an alternative community-based response. @SoniaChangDiaz and @SabadosaMA have a bill for that. #mapoli

Sample Email/Call Script

I was very happy that Massaschusetts took steps forward on police reform last year, passing legislation to create a standards and accreditation commission, put limits on the use of force, and take other steps to address systemic racism in law enforcement. But left out of the police reform bill was a simple realization: the best way to reduce the incidence of police brutality is to limit police interactions.

Too often, armed police officers are called in to respond to situations that they are not equipped to handle, situations that are better handled by someone with an expertise in social work or mental health or someone from the community itself. Shifting such calls away from police and towards alternative response programs ensures that situations do not escalate and that people can best be connected to the services that they need.

I urge you to co-sponsor S.1552/H.2519: An Act to Create Alternatives for Community Emergency Services (ACES), filed by Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz and Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa, which would direct the Executive Office of Health and Human Services to establish and oversee an Alternatives for Community Emergency Services Grant Program (A.C.E.S.) to increase the availability of such non-law-enforcement, unarmed community-based response options for calls to 911. The bill recognizes that each community knows best how to structure its own program and provides rigorous data collection and evaluation so that the best programs can spread.

Fortunately, the American Rescue Plan recently passed in DC provides new funding for states to set up such alternative crisis response programs. Massachusetts should embrace the opportunity.

Learn More

• Beck, Jackson, Melissa Reuland, and Leah Pope. Behavioral Health Crisis Alternatives: Shifting from Police to Community Responses. New York: Vera Institute, 2020. https://www.vera.org/behavioral-health-crisis-alternatives.

• Butler, Stewart and Nehath Sheriff. Innovative Solutions to Address the Mental Health Crisis: Shifting Away from Police as First Responders. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution, 2020. https://www.brookings.edu/research/innovative-solutions-to-address-the-mental-health-crisis-shifting-away-from-police-as-first-responders/.

• Gardner, Betsy. “A Fourth Dimension to 911: Centering Equity in Mental Health Crisis Response.” Data-Smart Solutions. March 26, 2021. https://datasmart.ash.harvard.edu/news/article/fourth-dimension-911-centering-equity-mental-health-crisis-response.

• Irwin, Amos and Betsy Pearl. The Community Responder Model: How Cities Can Send the Right Responder to Every 911 Call. Washington, DC: Center for American Progress, 2020. https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/criminal-justice/reports/2020/10/28/492492/community-responder-model/.

Sample Letter to the Editor (243 words)

In 2020, Massachusetts passed a police reform bill that created a standards and accreditation commission, put limits on the use of force, and took other steps to address systemic racism in law enforcement. But left out of the police reform bill was a simple realization: the best way to reduce the incidence of police brutality is to limit police interactions.

Too often, armed police officers are called in to respond to situations that they are not equipped to handle, situations that are better handled by someone with an expertise in social work or mental health or someone from the community itself. Shifting such calls away from police and towards alternative response programs ensures that situations do not escalate and that people can best be connected to the services that they need.

Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz (D-Jamaica Plain) and Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa (D-Northampton) have filed a bill (S.1552 / H.2519) to direct the Executive Office of Health and Human Services to establish and oversee an Alternatives for Community Emergency Services Grant Program (A.C.E.S.) to increase the availability of such non-law-enforcement, unarmed community-based response options for calls to 911, recognizing that each community knows best how to structure its own program and providing rigorous data collection and evaluation so that the best programs can spread.

Fortunately, the American Rescue Plan recently passed in DC provides new funding for states to set up such alternative crisis response programs. Massachusetts should embrace the opportunity.