PR 26-0108 Legislature · 26th Council Period (2025-2026)

Sense of the Council on Supporting Humane and Trauma-Informed Responses to Behavioral Health Crises Resolution of 2025

This resolution urges the District of Columbia Mayor to prioritize specialized behavioral health professionals over police for mental health crises. It directly affects DC residents experiencing behavioral health emergencies and DC government agencies like the Office of Unified Communications (OUC) and Department of Behavioral Health (DBH). Key provisions include improving call diversion to DBH helplines (targeting 90% of calls answered within 15-20 seconds by 2027), implementing "warm handoff" follow-ups, expanding mobile crisis teams to respond within 5-9 minutes, and developing community-based crisis care options to reduce hospitalizations. The resolution emphasizes trauma-informed care and community input, aiming to align behavioral health crisis response with the urgency of physical health emergencies.

Sub-Topics: Policing Mental Health

Bill status signed all 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2025

Committee Review

Dec 2025

Council Passage

Dec 2025

Signed into Law

Dec 2025

Introduced Feb 28, 2025 Signed Dec 16, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduction → Enrollment · 4 edits

MODERATE

The document was converted from a proposed resolution into an enrolled bill, making it official law. The text was reorganized into a formal legislative structure with numbered sections, and the content was expanded to include specific data on emergency department visits, detailed descriptions of agency roles, and new findings regarding disparities affecting homeless, Spanish-speaking, and residents of Wards 7 and 8.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded to explicitly address systemic inequities affecting specific demographics (homeless individuals, Spanish-speaking residents, and Wards 7 and 8) and to formally define the roles of various agencies in the crisis response ecosystem.

TECHNICAL

The document structure changed from a narrative introduction to a formal resolution with a title, section numbers, and a 'Resolved' clause.

DEFINITION

New findings were added defining behavioral health crises and citing specific statistics on police dispatches, hospital visits, and call center intake.

SCOPE

The bill now explicitly finds that homeless individuals, Spanish-speaking residents, and residents of Wards 7 and 8 face unique barriers to care and are disproportionately affected by behavioral health crises.

New findings were added detailing the specific roles of the Office of Unified Communications (OUC), Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), and Department of Behavioral Health (DBH) in the crisis response system.

Floor votes · Council Dec 16, 2025

How they voted

13–0

Passed

Total votes 13

Dec 16, 2025

D Democratic11

11 Yea

100% Yea

I Independent2

2 Yea

100% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Dec 16, 2025

Council · Passed

Council Vote: pass (13-0)

council

Dec 8, 2025

Legislature · Passed

Committee Mark-up of PR26-0108 by the Health Committee

legislature

Dec 1, 2025

Legislature · Passed

Committee Mark-up of PR26-0108 by the Judiciary and Public Safety Committee

legislature

Mar 28, 2025

Committee

Re-Referral published.

legislature

Mar 18, 2025

Committee

Re-Referred to Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety, and Committee on Health

legislature

Mar 4, 2025

Committee

Referred to Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety with comments from the Committee on Health

legislature

Feb 28, 2025

Introduced

PR26-0108 Introduced by Councilmember Henderson at Office of the Secretary

legislature

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors