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Santa Cruz County settles $2.2M lawsuit in Tamario Smith jail death

By Nik Altenberg|2024-12-12T16:57:45-08:00December 12, 2024|Tags: Chris Clark, City of Santa Cruz, County of Santa Cruz, Featured, health, Jim Hart, Julie Ruhlin, Law enforcement, mental health, Mike Gennaco, Nik Altenberg, Santa Cruz County Jail, Santa Cruz County Office of Inspector General, Tamario Smith|

New sheriff discusses jail upgrades, mental health care

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Will a new court program address severe mental illness in Santa Cruz County?

By Jesse Kathan|2024-12-09T15:36:25-08:00December 9, 2024|Tags: CARE court, County of Santa Cruz, Featured, health, homelessness, Jesse Kathan, Karen Kern, mental health, Santa Cruz County Superior Court|

State mandate uses county dollars, doesn’t fund services or housing

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Mental-health crisis care gets overhaul in Santa Cruz County

By Jesse Kathan|2023-11-15T15:58:14-08:00June 29, 2023|Tags: AB988, Jesse Kathan, mental health, mental health crises, Santa Cruz County Behavioral Health|

More staff and coordination in new 24-hour response

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Staff shortage hinders Santa Cruz County mental health care

By Michael Warren Mott|2023-06-22T13:18:12-07:00June 22, 2023|Tags: mental health, mental health crises, Santa Cruz County Behavioral Health, Santa Cruz County Civil Grand Jury|

Civil Grand Jury report outlines problems, offers solutions

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New Santa Cruz drop-in center offers help to teens, young adults

By Nicklas Balboa|2022-11-08T17:09:11-08:00November 8, 2022|Tags: City of Santa Cruz, health, homeless youth, housing, mental health, youth activities|

‘Thrive Hive’ provides employment support, health and housing services

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Expansion of mobile mental-health services lags in Santa Cruz County

By Jesse Kathan|2022-09-09T09:36:54-07:00August 12, 2022|Tags: mental health, mental health crises, Santa Cruz County, Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office, Santa Cruz Police Department, Watsonville Police Department|

‘988’ hotline starts, legislators advance money for non-police responses

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Challenges outlined for new mental-health crisis response in Santa Cruz County

By Jesse Kathan|2022-08-01T15:55:08-07:00April 29, 2022|Tags: mental health, mental health crises, Santa Cruz County, Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office, Santa Cruz Police Department, Watsonville Police Department|

Dial ‘988’ to start in July, but non-police response remains limited

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Police standards examined in Santa Cruz County report

By Stephen Baxter|2021-11-19T18:41:15-08:00November 19, 2021|Tags: Andrew Dally, Capitola Police Department, City of Santa Cruz, Criminal Justice Council, Justin Cummings, Law enforcement, mental health, mental health crises, Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office, Santa Cruz Police Department, Scotts Valley Police Department, Stephen Baxter, Steve Walpole, Tom Sims, Watsonville Police Department, Zach Friend|

Independent oversight, use of force policies among key differences

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Podcast: Reshaping mental health crisis response in Santa Cruz County

By Stephen Baxter|2022-05-03T09:44:33-07:00June 11, 2021|Tags: downtown Santa Cruz, homeless, Mark Stone, mental health, police, Santa Cruz police, Sean Arlt, Stephen Baxter|

Part of Santa Cruz Local's Police Reform Series

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How Alameda County addresses mental-health crisis response

By Stephen Baxter|2021-11-03T14:12:33-07:00May 20, 2021|Tags: mental health, mental health crises, Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office, Santa Cruz Local Police Reform Series, Santa Cruz Police Department, Stephen Baxter, Watsonville Police Department|

Police reform series: 911 alternatives in Santa Cruz County, East Bay

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State bill sets stage for new mental health crisis hotline

By Stephen Baxter|2021-11-03T14:12:39-07:00May 13, 2021|Tags: 911, AB988, Mark Stone, mental health, mental health crises, police, police funding, police reform, Santa Cruz Local Police Reform Series, Santa Cruz Police Department, Scotts Valley Police Department, Stephen Baxter, Watsonville police, Watsonville Police Department|

Police reform series: Non-police responses targeted by Santa Cruz County group