CESSA - Region 10 Committee Meeting Approved Minutes 03/16/2023

Community Emergency Services and Support Act (CESSA) Region 10 Advisory Committee

Meeting Minutes- March 16, 2023 - 9:00 - 10:30 AM via Zoom

Meeting Minutes - Approved by Members 06/27/2023

  • Welcome/Call to Order/Roll Call
    • Meeting called to order at 9:01 am by Co-Chair Sam Johnson
    • Attendees:
      • Via Zoom: Dr. Ben Feinzimer, Sam Johnson, Miriam Smith, Jodi Newmark, Brian Baker, Jason Seeley, Christopher Mayer, Emily Mysel, Alicia Atkinson, Nancy Vaccaro, Jeremy Gaughan, Michael Pellegrino, Mary Anne Glowacz
  • Absences - Jennifer Brothers, Elizabeth Moss, Laura Banks, Thomas Jones, Christopher Voss
  • Approval of Minutes
    • No comment/corrections to 02/09/2022 meeting minutes
    • Motion to approve by Member Jeremy Gaughan, second by Member Jason Seeley
    • Motion approved by all members present.
  • Introduction to the Interim Risk Assessment Matrix and Toolkit, Part 1
    • Discussed Interim Risk Assessment Matrix and Toolkit
    • Consider removing the term "Psychosis" from entire matrix.
      • Connotes medical diagnosis for which PSAPs are NOT trained.
      • Perpetuates stigma.
      • May mislead and create unnecessary/inappropriate response.
      • Instead focus on behaviors
    • All risk levels if GUN accessible automatic POLICE involvement
      • In risk level 3 and 2 ensure dynamic wherein police secure scene and then quickly turn over to MCRT or related personnel
      • Refrain from using term "Dispatch" with 988 since it's NOT a dispatching entity.
      • Dispatch response types are considered recommendations. Can Mobile Crisis Response teams go out without law enforcement? Maybe the layout of the levels can be changed to make it visually clear that law enforcement is an option but not a mandatory for every response. Currently, it looks like always law enforcement and sometimes mental health.
      • Need ongoing discussion re "who is calling" (i.e., risk levels difficult for PSAPs to ascertain when it's a good samaritan or passerby or person remote from the actual situation)
    • Level 4
      • Recommend removing term psychosis.
    • Level 3
      • Include examples for nebulous items.
        • Assaulting someone but essentially no ability to cause life-threatening harm (e.g., 8 y/o behavioral problems, wheelchair bound person threatening to run down another individual)
        • Recommend downgrading "suicide statement w/ no attempt" to 2.
    • Level 2
      • Recommend verbiage offering MCRT discretion to escalate (call LE)
        • Comments from Member Chris Mayer (590) that these are almost all our calls, if we included law enforcement response, it would be grossly unnecessarily and overwhelming. Should be at the Mobile Crisis Response Teams discretion to call law enforcement or have law enforcement aware of the situation and in proximity on standby if needed.
        • Member Brian Baker stated that if someone is injuring themselves, 911 dispatch is going to send fire and if fire goes, then law enforcement goes. But would also recommend an option for no law enforcement to respond to the other types of situations.
    • Level 1
      • Recommend removing the word florid.
        • Need assessment of psychotic behaviors (e.g., chronic auditory hallucinations, whether delusions are persecutory and/or command)
      • Expanding the questions to the caller about the psychosis, for example, are these chronic or is this a new episode, how long have you noticed the episode.
    • Toolkit
      • PSAPs will shoulder a lot of the work going through the customization of response type and time.
      • Not sure if the state will be sending out the worksheets for the PSAPs or if the RAC will send out. PSAPs, please send Sam and Ben who would participate in this decision making from each PSAP.
    • Questions/Comments from Members
      • Member Jody Newmark stated that information on intellectual disabilities and how they impact our responses should be supplied. Responders need to know the difference between someone with an intellectual disability and someone with a mental illness.
  • State Updates
    • No one from the state attended meeting to give the update.
  • Open for Public Comment
    • Dan Wasmer - Stated the need to remove term "psychosis." Focus on behavior. Wonderful meeting. Way ahead of the curve, very good discussion.
    • Matt Fishback - Stated that attention necessary to toggling b/w 988/911 and outside non-emergency entities (e.g, NAMI).
    • Kevin Richardson stated that there is a need to be intentional verbiage (e.g., psychosis) to reduce discriminatory thoughts and help decriminalize mental illness.
    • Mike Tracy - Stated very difficult to change culture for dispatch and PD response, need to educate away from immediate thoughts of violence even with "aggressive behavior." That is if say a person on the street has schizophrenia, is clearly responding to internal stimuli, even if argumentative, is not necessarily violent.
    • Chris Baldwin of PATH stated risk matrix joins public safety threat and suicidal risk. Perhaps they should not be joined. Tease out pathways for both and it may help reduce unnecessary personnel and equipment dispatched.
  • Next meeting is April 13th, 2023, at 9:00-10:30 am via Zoom
  • Adjournment
    • Motion to adjourn by Member Brian Baker, second by Member Mary Anne Glowacz. Meeting adjourned at 10:30 am