California state lawmakers are pushing to renew an alternative crisis response program and divert non-violent 911 calls away from police.
The Community Response Initiative to Strengthen Emergency Systems (C.R.I.S.E.S) is a $10 million California initiative designed to reduce reliance on law enforcement as first responders for non-violent community crises. Assembly Bill 1932 would extend the C.R.I.S.E.S. Grant Pilot Program to June 30, 2032, as the Crisis Act 2.0. The pilot program was established in 2021 and ran through April 30, 2026, while the original law authorizing it expired on Jan. 1, 2026.
Co-authored by Democratic Assemblymembers Sade Elhawary (Los Angeles County) and Ash Kalra (Santa Clara County), AB 1932 would require the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) to administer the program grants, which can only be allocated if the legislature sets aside specific funding for it in the yearly state budget.
The bill is currently supported by a coalition of over 40 organizations, with co-sponsors including Alliance for Boys and Men of Color, Anti Police-Terror Project, Black Lives Matter California, Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice (CURYJ), Justice Teams Network, and Youth Justice Coalition.
Historically, police officers have been called to respond to mental health and substance abuse crises. However, in recent years, community members across California have raised concerns over the lack of adequate training and de-escalation of these sorts of encounters.
Mental health advocates have noted that individuals experiencing a mental health crisis are more likely to be shot or killed by police. Research from the Treatment Advocacy Center similarly indicates that people with untreated serious mental illness are up to 16 times more likely to be killed during a law enforcement encounter, and roughly one in four fatal police shootings involves an individual with a mental illness.
Assemblymember Elhawary said that these sorts of initiatives are especially impactful for communities of color, “who need consistent, culturally competent care” in moments of mental health crisis.
“We know law enforcement is not always the right response for someone experiencing a mental health or substance use crisis,” Assemblymember Elhawary said at a June 15th hearing in Sacramento. “Too often, those situations escalate when they don’t have to.”
The C.R.I.S.E.S Pilot Program, established by statute in 2021, is administered by CDSS. It was created in the aftermath of the 2020 mass protests sparked by the police shootings of Black Americans like George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.
The pilot program supported partnerships between city, county, tribal governments, and community-based organizations (CBOs) to provide emergency response services to lessen the reliance on law enforcement agencies as first responders to non-violent crises.
To be eligible, a CBO had to be a public or nonprofit organization or be fiscally sponsored by a nonprofit. They also had to demonstrate both the capacity to provide effective community-based alternatives to law enforcement and a strong track record of serving the communities identified in the proposal.
CBO grantees say the pilot program showed positive results and provided more appropriate and effective responses—especially in situations unrelated to a fire department or emergency medical services. Participants of the program said it was an opportunity to build trust by connecting impacted communities to the resources they needed.
Tien Nguyen, the Senior Program Director at Family Bridges, spoke in support of AB 1932 on June 15 during a Senate Standing Committee on Human Services. Family Bridges, a grantee of the Crisis Act, is an Oakland-based organization focused on supporting monolingual and limited-English-proficient Asian immigrants and residents in the East Bay.
“The crisis funding allowed us to build a model focused on both prevention and response…we know the best interventions often happen before a crisis escalates,” Nguyen said.
According to Nguyen, when he first started working at the organization in 2023, he had been recently paroled from prison. He began as a part-time ‘community ambassador’ doing outreach, making about 1,000 “connections” a year with community members, he said. With the funding provided by the C.R.I.S.E.S. Grant Pilot Program, Family Bridges was able to serve more than 10,500 people on the streets of Oakland in the last year alone.
“Recently, we surveyed community members who received our services and asked how their experience compared to previous interactions with law enforcement. One response has stayed with me. ‘Better…I did not go to jail,’” that person said, according to Nguyen.
Nguyen said this is a testimony to the effectiveness of the pilot program. It is also an opportunity to continue strengthening relationships with California residents who are going through difficult times.
AB 1932 has already passed the State Assembly; it must now successfully pass the Senate Appropriations Committee and pass a full vote on the Senate floor before being sent to Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Advocates are hopeful that it will pass and optimistic about the program’s results.
“This bill is about making sure that the right response shows up at the right time. It reduces harm, prevents escalation, and supports better outcomes for everyone involved,” said Elhawary.
