Officer Wellness and Mental Health Grant Program

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Overview

The Officer Wellness and Mental Health Grant Program, established in the 2022 Budget Act (Assembly Bill 178, Chapter 45, Statutes of 2022), provides $50 million for city and county law enforcement agencies for the purpose of improving officer wellness and expanding mental health sources. The funding may be used for any of the following purposes:

• Establishing or expanding officer wellness units
• Establishing or expanding peer support units
• Services provided by a licensed mental health professional, counselor or other professional that works with law enforcement
• Expanding multiagency mutual aid programs focused on officer wellness and mental health
• Other programs and services that are evidence-based or have a successful track record of enhancing officer wellness

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) are available to assist grant recipients.  FAQsopens WORD file – updated 02/14/23

 

Funding Allocations and Disbursement

The allocation of funds was determined by the number of peace officers described in Penal Code section 830.1.  Funding allocation for each eligible agency can be found hereopens PDF file .

A check for the full funding allocation will be sent to eligible law enforcement agencies.

The funding allocation and disbursement of grant funds was announced by BSCC Chair Linda Penner in a memo that was sent to all police chiefs and sheriffs.  memoopens PDF file

 

Reporting Requirements

Recipients will submit information related to the Officer Wellness grant annually. A Data Reporting Guide has been created to assist with the reporting requirements.

A webinar to review reporting requirements will be held in Spring 2023. Additional information will be emailed out to grantees in the coming weeks.

Data Reporting Guideopens PDF file

Annual Report

• Recipients of the funds will submit a brief, annual expenditure report due December 1, 2023 and December 1, 2024.
• Link to Annual Report form: https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/b436ae94bd1145bc80415d1ee199ed8e

 

Final Impact and Expenditure Report

• Recipients will submit a final impact and expenditure report describing how funding was used and the impact of the resources by December 1, 2025.
• Link to Final Impact Report: https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/9b8bb2fd685244b58652caed03189d6c
• The expenditure portion of the final report will be an Excel file that will be attached to the Final Impact Report form. Excel files will be customized for each grantee and emailed to each agency individually. A sample template is available for grantees to view here.opens PDF file

 

Resources

• Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) – Organizational Wellness and Resilience: https://post.ca.gov/Wellness
  Resources available to law enforcement agencies related to officer wellness, including contacts at other agencies who have established officer wellness programs and available training courses and videos.

• International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) – Officer Health and Wellness: https://www.theiacp.org/resources/document/officer-health-and-wellness
  Collection of resources that support the safety, health, and wellness of every officer that may be used when developing comprehensive officer safety and wellness strategies, including topics such as building resilience, injury prevention, peer support programs, physical fitness, proper nutrition, stress, mindfulness, suicide prevention, and more.
  • Fitness Program Development Considerations: https://www.theiacp.org/sites/default/files/2018-09/Fitness%20Document.pdf

• International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) – Police Chief Magazine – Officer Safety & Wellness: https://www.policechiefmagazine.org/category/topics/officer-safety-wellness/
  • Focus on Officer Wellness: Officer Wellness Programs – Research Evidence and a Call to Action: https://www.policechiefmagazine.org/fow-officer-wellness-programs/
  • IACP@Work: Peer Support in Small and Rural Agencies:  https://www.policechiefmagazine.org/iacpwork-peer-support-small-rural-agencies/
  • Designing a Wellness Program for Smaller Police Departments: https://www.policechiefmagazine.org/designing-wellness-program-smaller-pd/

• U.S. Department of Justice – Officer Safety and Wellness Resources: https://www.justice.gov/asg/officer-safety-and-wellness-resources

• U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) – Ensuring Officer Health and Wellness During Difficult Times: https://bja.ojp.gov/news/blog/ensuring-officer-health-and-wellness-during-difficult-times
  • VALOR – Officer Safety and Wellness Program: https://www.valorforblue.org/Home

• U.S. Department of Justice, Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) – Officer Safety and Wellness: https://cops.usdoj.gov/officersafetyandwellness
  • Building and Sustaining an Officer Wellness Program – Lessons Learned from the San Diego Police Department: https://cops.usdoj.gov/RIC/ric.php?page=detail&id=COPS-W0863
  • Making Officer Safety and Wellness Priority One – A Guide to Educational Campaigns: https://cops.usdoj.gov/RIC/ric.php?page=detail&id=COPS-P300

• U.S. Department of Justice, Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) – Resource Center: https://cops.usdoj.gov/RIC/ric.php
  • Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Programs – Eleven Case Studies: https://cops.usdoj.gov/RIC/ric.php?page=detail&id=COPS-P371
  • Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act – Report to Congress: https://cops.usdoj.gov/RIC/ric.php?page=detail&id=COPS-P370
  • Promising Strategies for Strengthening Police Department Wellness Programs – Findings and Recommendations from the Officer Safety and Wellness Technical Assistance Project: https://cops.usdoj.gov/RIC/ric.php?page=detail&id=COPS-W0964
  • Preparing for the Unimaginable – How Chiefs Can Safeguard Officer Mental Health Before and After Mass Casualty Events: https://cops.usdoj.gov/RIC/ric.php?page=detail&id=COPS-P347
  • Officer Safety and Wellness Group Meeting Summary: Improving Law Enforcement Resilience – Lessons and Recommendations:  https://cops.usdoj.gov/RIC/ric.php?page=detail&id=COPS-P362
  • Wellness Provider Vetting Guide: https://cops.usdoj.gov/RIC/ric.php?page=detail&id=COPS-W0963

• California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) – Office of Employee Wellness: https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/wellness/

• Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) – How to Establish and Design a Wellness Program:  https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/tools-and-samples/how-to-guides/pages/howtoestablishanddesignawellnessprogram.aspx

 

Questions

If you have additional questions about BSCC’s Officer Wellness and Mental Health Grant Program, please send them to OfficerWellnessGrant@bscc.ca.govcreate new email