CWCRT

Community Wellness and Crisis Response Team (CWCRT)

The Community Wellness and Crisis Response Team (CWCRT) is a partnership between the Redwood City Police Department, the cities of Daly City, San Mateo, and South San Francisco, San Mateo County Behavioral Health and Recovery Services (BHRS), and the nonprofit StarVista, created to better respond to individuals experiencing a behavioral health crisis.

The program embeds a mental health clinician within RCPD, working alongside officers through a co-response model. When a call involves a behavioral health crisis, officers and the clinician respond together, though with separate responsibilities: officers ensure the scene is safe, while the clinician works to assess the individual and connect them with the appropriate services and resources.

For non-criminal matters, law enforcement presence is minimized and the clinician takes the lead in supporting the individual. For incidents involving criminal matters, officers maintain primary responsibility but collaborate with the clinician to reach the best outcome for everyone involved. Beyond individual calls, the clinician also provides ongoing training to RCPD personnel in behavioral health, crisis response, and de-escalation.

Why CWCRT Exists

Historically, a lack of around-the-clock behavioral health resources meant law enforcement was often the default first responder for individuals in crisis. RCPD responds to thousands of calls for service each year involving someone with a connection to mental illness, calls that don't always benefit from a traditional law enforcement response and can strain relationships between officers and the community. Following community engagement around racial equity and policing in 2020, Redwood City residents specifically called for alternative response models for mental health crisis calls. Recognizing that a mid-size city like Redwood City doesn't typically employ its own mental health professionals, the City partnered with the County and neighboring cities to share the cost and build a jointly-run model.

Goals and Objectives

The CWCRT program is built around several core goals:

• Improved outcomes for individuals experiencing behavioral health crises

• Increased access to appropriate mental health resources and services

• Stronger training and collaboration between BHRS and law enforcement staff

• Strengthened relationships between law enforcement, behavioral health providers, and the community

Program Evaluation

CWCRT partners with the John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities at Stanford University, which conducts ongoing, independent research and data analysis to track the program's effectiveness, including residential stability, improved mental health outcomes, reduced use of emergency services, and reduced contact with the criminal justice system. Findings are shared publicly to support informed decisions about the program's future.

Program Funding

Program costs are shared between San Mateo County and the participating cities, with the County covering half the total cost and each city covering a quarter of the remaining balance. Redwood City's share was $76,937 in FY 2021/22 and $79,245 in FY 2022/23.

A Proven Success

CWCRT launched as a two-year pilot program, and the results spoke for themselves. Given the program's success, the City of Redwood City made the decision to bring the clinician on permanently, hiring her to continue her work full-time with the Department. Today, RCPD stands as a leader among San Mateo County agencies in co-response crisis intervention, and the Department remains committed to ongoing efforts to improve and expand the program's reach and impact throughout the community.

Data Dashboard

RCPD publishes an ongoing dashboard showing the activity and support provided by its CWCRT clinician, viewable on the City's Police Data Dashboards page. Dashboards for other participating cities are also available through San Mateo County's website.