The law establishes a “compassionate approach to responding to mental health and behavioral health crises in Cleveland.”
CLEVELAND — Tanisha’s Law, which is legislation named after Tanisha Anderson, was passed by Cleveland City Council at Monday night’s meeting.
The law establishes a “compassionate approach to responding to mental health and behavioral health crises in Cleveland.”
A press release from City Council says this will prioritize dignity, safety and appropriate care over traditional law enforcement responses when possible.
The legislation comes after Anderson died in police custody during a mental health crisis back in 2014.
Here are key components of the legislation as outlined by Cleveland City Council:
Creation of a Bureau of Community Crisis Response within Cleveland EMS, led by a Deputy Commissioner, to coordinate citywide crisis response efforts in collaboration with public safety, public health, and other city departments.Unarmed Crisis Response Teams made up of behavioral health professionals, social workers, peers with lived experience, and clinicians. These teams will be dispatched—often instead of police—to non-violent behavioral health crises, wellness checks, substance-use crises, and quality-of-life calls.Crisis call diversion through embedding mental health clinicians in the 9-1-1 dispatch center to route appropriate calls away from policing and toward behavioral health responses.Follow-up care and service connection, with responders assessing needs, providing resources, making referrals, and helping individuals access appropriate facilities or services.Transparency and accountability, including:Ongoing data collection on effectiveness, outcomes, costs, and return on investmentAn annual public report on program impact and recommendationsA public online dashboard showing response data, police hours saved, and community feedbackExpanded crisis intervention training for police, including:Mandatory crisis-intervention training for all officers (initial and annual refresher)Specialized, voluntary 40-hour training for designated Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) officersStricter eligibility standards for CIT officers, excluding those with histories of excessive force complaintsPublic education and engagement, with outreach to inform residents about the new crisis response system and how to access it.