A presentation on the Fullerton Police Department’s Behavioral Health Clinician Pilot Program was given at the City Council meeting on December 02, 2025, by Lieutenant Perry Thayer, who oversees the homeless liaison unit and the behavioral health clinician program.

In June of 2022, the Orange County Board of Supervisors allocated $1 million in discretionary funds to support projects benefiting OC 4th district residents. Fullerton Police Department (FPD) partnered with the County of Orange to use this allocation to create a two-year Behavioral Health Commission pilot program. This program embeds two licensed clinical social workers into the department to support officers and improve outcomes on mental health-related calls.

The clinicians provide trauma-informed services when appropriate and also allow alternatives to incarceration. They offer counseling, crisis response, mediation, and connect individuals to community resources. They assess mental, behavioral, and emotional disorders. They can develop treatment plans and conduct follow-ups to ensure that the interventions are effective. And they also provide mental health training and real-time consultation to officers during field operations.

The program experienced delays due to changes in classification requirements from the Orange County Healthcare Agency. The agreement between the City of Fullerton and the County of Orange was finalized in July 2023. City Council approved the Behavioral Health Clinician Classification Plan in August 2023. Both clinicians were hired in November 2024, completed training, and were deployed in the field in February 2025. Over 1,000 calls for service in which behavioral health clinicians have responded, 43% of mental health-related calls have been handled by the clinicians and resulted in a mental health evaluation, providing timely and appropriate intervention for individuals in crisis. 12% of these calls resulted in hospital holds, also known as 5150 holds, to ensure high-risk individuals received immediate care in a safe environment.

The program received $1 million in initial funding. Expenses have occurred across multiple fiscal years, including startup costs such as the purchase of two vehicles with all necessary equipment, police radios, uniforms, bulletproof vests, and all equipment they wear on their person, as well as workspace innovation.

Current operational costs are averaging just under $29,000 per month. As of December 1, 2025, the remaining funding balance is approximately $543,000. Based on current expenditure rates, the program funding is projected to run out by May of 2026. The estimated costs for fiscal years 26/27 and 27/28 indicate that additional funding would be required to continue operations beyond those dates.

Council Member Dr Ahmad Zahra said, “Thank you for this. I really am Grateful to our County Supervisor Chafee for bringing this to us. My question is on the funding and the long-term vision. It seems like there are some good measurable results. What happens next? Do we have a vision of what could happen next after the funding is gone?

Fullerton Police Chief Jon Radus responded, “We certainly value them. I think whenever there’s a pilot program, the proof is in the people, right? The people we have selected have done an incredible job, and they are the reason it’s been successful thus far. So I want to give them all the credit they deserve, because they’ve done an incredible job. We will request a formal budget for the next fiscal year. That will include them in our long-term budget goals.

Zahra asked, “Is there any likelihood of us approaching the county for additional funding?

Radus said, “It was given to us as a pilot program, and we certainly have been working with the supervisor’s office. I don’t believe there is any long-term funding available to us, and we’ve certainly looked into grants and other opportunities; unfortunately, right now, they don’t exist for this program. Not to say that they won’t in the future, but for now, they don’t. So we’re looking to fund it internally.

Mayor Pro Tem Dr Shana Charles said, “Thank you for the presentation. I’m very excited about the number of service calls that these providers were able to do. I know that the ramp-up before it was a little difficult in terms of finding the personnel who would fit this. And so I’m wondering if the program should continue, and I sincerely hope that it will, because we have already accomplished that learning curve, or do we need to re-worry about hiring new people and being able to keep continuously filling these positions?”

Radus said, “First of all, we did have some difficulty in hiring to begin with, and that was. Partly due to its very unique position, as we have discussed over the past few years. It’s a unique position and it takes an exceptional person with their credentials to want to do the job that they’re doing for us. So yes, it was difficult to hire. That said that the two that we have hired have been fantastic. They have a background, both of them, in Law enforcement and clinical work. And so we we believe they’ve promised me that if we get the funding they will continue to work with us. And so I don’t think that we will have that ramp up going forward that’s going to sounds like they’re happy where they are and would like to continue.

Charles said, “That would be great. And then my other question is, and I don’t know if this data is available. Do we know whether or not these 1,011 calls say or the 438 evaluations, are they unique, is that unique individuals or is that number of calls?

Thayer responded, “There might be repeats in terms of people in that they’re very well could be repeats in that, you know, it’s not a A1. Or solution usually for somebody who experiencing mental health crisis, it could take repeated attempts or assistance to get them properly medicated or the proper counseling where they need. But our behavioral health clinicians are able to conduct follow up so they’re able to reach out to people proactively. Um, to maybe prevent additional calls from service or a dream, not a dream, but a, a stress on police resources by kind of getting that type of crisis off officers.

Charles said, “That’s a good thing, right? And, so actually that answer one of my other questions is that we are doing some follow-ups and that there is a little bit of actually continuity of care then. Going on here and I’m glad to hear it. Thank you.

Council Member Jamie Valencia stated, “I just want to say thank you. I’ve seen you guys out in the public and I appreciate all you do. As a nurse. I really feel that mental health is a big concern within our community and I really just thank you so much for having this program. I will support it.