DATE: September 22, 2026
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Susan L. Holt, LMFT, Director, Department of Behavioral Health
SUBJECT: Retroactive Agreements with the City of Fresno Police Department Crisis Intervention Team
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
1. Under Administrative Policy No. 34 for competitive bids or requests for proposals (AP 34), determine that an exception to the competitive bidding requirement under AP 34 is satisfied and a suspension of competition is warranted due to unusual or extraordinary circumstances, and that the best interests of the County would be served by entering into an Agreement with the City of Fresno Police Department (FPD) as the metro area falls under the jurisdiction of the FPD restricting services provided only by FPD;
2. Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute a retroactive Agreement with the City of Fresno for Crisis Intervention Team services in the Fresno metropolitan area, effective July 1, 2026, not to exceed five consecutive years, which includes a three-year base contract and two optional one-year extensions, total not to exceed $45,000; and
3. Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute a retroactive License Agreement for County-owned space located at Building 658, 1925 East Dakota Avenue, Fresno, CA 93726, for approximately 1200 square feet of office space, effective July 1, 2026, not to exceed five consecutive years, which includes a three-year base contract and two optional one-year extensions ($0).
REPORT
There is no Net County Cost associated with the recommended actions. Approval of the recommended actions will allow the Department of Behavioral Health (DBH) to continue its collaboration with the City of Fresno Police Department (FPD) to respond to behavioral health crisis calls as dispatched by 9-1-1 operators, provide referrals and linkages to behavioral health services, and conduct trainings at the community level. The services will be funded with Behavioral Health Services Act - Behavioral Health Services and Supports - Early Intervention (BHSA-BHSS-EI) funds. This item pertains to Districts that overlap with the Fresno metropolitan area.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
There are no viable alternative actions. Should your Board not approve the recommended actions, it will likely discontinue the collaboration with the City of Fresno Police Department’s Crisis Intervention Team (FPD CIT) and behavioral health clinicians.
RETROACTIVE AGREEMENT:
The recommended agreement with the City of Fresno is retroactive to July 1, 2026. The period to prepare and review by both City and County of the associated program service agreement did not allow presentation to your Board on an earlier date.
SUSPENSION OF COMPETITION/SOLE SOURCE CONTRACT:
It is requested that the County find under AP 34 that an exception to the competitive bidding requirement is satisfied, and a suspension of competition is warranted due to unusual or extraordinary circumstances, as the CIT program consists of specially trained law enforcement officers who respond to behavioral health crisis calls for service dispatched by 9-1-1 operators for the metro Fresno area. The metro area falls under the jurisdiction of the City of Fresno Police Department therefore restricting to only one possible agency to provide services. The Internal Services Department - Purchasing concurs with the Department’s assessment that this satisfies the exception to the competitive bidding process required by AP 34.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no increase in Net County Cost associated with the recommended actions. The maximum compensation under the recommended service agreement will not exceed $45,000 and will be funded with BHSA-BHSS-EI. The recommended agreement for the County-owned property does not include an exchange of funds. Sufficient appropriations and estimated revenues are included in the Department’s Org 5630 FY 2026-27 Recommended Budget and will be included within future budget requests for the term’s duration.
DISCUSSION:
On June 11, 2020, the City of Fresno announced the formation of the Fresno Commission for Police Reform (Commission) to develop recommendations to institute reform to FPD and provide recommendations for reform. On October 29, 2020, the Commission’s recommendations included that FPD officers should not be dispatched for behavioral health-related calls for service that are non-violent in nature and that the City increase its reliance on behavioral health and trained medical professionals to respond to such calls. As a result, County and City leadership teams developed a CIT model that recognized the Commission’s recommendation, appropriately served those in need of behavioral health crisis services and kept the responding clinicians and community safe. The metropolitan Fresno PD CIT program consists of specially trained law enforcement officers who co-respond with Behavioral Health clinicians to behavioral health crisis calls as dispatched by 9-1-1 operators to provide compassionate, person-centered crisis intervention services within a secure scene. CIT staff respond to the initial crisis, provide post-crisis follow-up, referrals and linkages, as well as conduct trainings at the community level, which allows FPD patrol officers to respond to incoming 9-1-1 calls.
On November 8, 2022, the Board approved Agreement No. 22-507 and License Agreement No. 22-508 with the City of Fresno to provide CIT services in the Fresno metropolitan area and use county-owned space at 1925 E Dakota Avenue to co-located with behavioral health staff providing CIT services.
On December 17, 2024, the Board approved Agreement No. 24-661 and License Agreement No. 24-662 to continue the collaborative services through June 30, 2026.
With the expansion of contracted Metro and Rural Mobile Crisis and CIT services in December 2018 and July 2022 with Kings View, respectively, the FPD CIT program’s primary areas of focus shifted to DBH behavioral health staff providing post-crisis follow-up, facilitating referrals and service linkages, engaging in occasional co-response with behavioral health staff, and delivering training, education, and outreach to community partners and law enforcement.
Approval of the recommended actions will allow for the continued collaboration between DBH and FPD in providing crisis response services aimed at reducing the number of crisis calls, advocating for individuals to ensure they receive the right care at the right time, and increasing client stabilization.
The Indemnity and Insurance articles of the recommended agreements have modifications to the standard County language, which include mutual indemnity and insurance as well as concurrent negligence language. Since the City is another government agency, the Department is allowing these modifications as they pose minimal risk to the County.
AB339 noticing has occurred and the Human Resources Department approved execution of the recommended agreements.
OTHER REVIEWING AGENCIES:
The Behavioral Health Board will be notified of the recommended agreements at its September 2026 meeting.
REFERENCE MATERIAL:
BAI #37, December 17, 2024
BAI #25, November 8, 2022
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
Suspension of Competition Acquisition Request
On file with Clerk - Agreement with City of Fresno
On file with Clerk - License Agreement with City of Fresno
CAO ANALYST:
Ronald W. Alexander Jr.