Olympia – Fourteen programs serving 19 Washington cities will receive grants to establish new and support fledging alternative response team programs.
The Alternative Response Team (ART) Grant program provides cities funding to create and support programs within different alternative response models including law enforcement assisted diversion (LEAD), community assistance referral and education services
(CARES), and mobile crisis teams.
ART programs help communities respond to people in crisis using alternative methods. This includes more options to respond to non-criminal calls and provide appropriate alternatives to arrest. The ART program is unique as it allows cities to consider
which alternative response model would best address the needs of its community.
The Association of Washington Cities (AWC) awarded the funds allocated from the Washington State Legislature and the Washington State Health Care Authority (HCA). AWC received 20 applications requesting more than $4 million. After a review process, AWC
and HCA elected to fully fund eight programs and provide partial funding to six programs.
The city recipients include:
City | Amount |
|---|
Anacortes | $40,040* |
Bellingham | $62,968.70* |
Covington | $30,000 |
Everett | $183,000* |
Bothell, Kenmore, Kirkland, Lake Forest Park, & Shoreline | $70,500* |
Monroe & Sultan | $200,000 |
Moses Lake | $108,688.55* |
Port Angeles | $235,200* |
Port Townsend | $217,300 |
Poulsbo | $190,500 |
Puyallup | $270,641 |
Ridgefield | $59,178.75 |
Shelton | $175,000 |
Tukwila | $92,083 |
* Received partial funding
Several grantees will use additional funding to support their ART program from their city’s general fund, partnerships from neighboring jurisdictions, opioid settlement funds, or federal COVID-19 funding.
Communities that have established ART programs have reported improvements in community safety, a decrease in calls to first responders, and improvements in connecting individuals to services and programs. 2022 is the first year this grant opportunity
became available.
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Founded in 1933, the Association of Washington Cities (AWC) is a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan corporation that represents Washington’s cities and towns before the state legislature, the state executive branch and with regulatory agencies. Membership is voluntary. However, AWC consistently maintains 100% participation from Washington’s 281 cities and towns.