By The Campus Assessment & Stabilization Team began at Long Beach State as a part of the Health and Wellbeing resources in 2022 after receiving a grant to internalize the program.
It consists of two social workers, Graciela Lopez and Donna De Loera.
Over the last year, Lopez and De Loera have assisted the University Police Department in mental health-related emergency and non-emergency calls on and off campus. Their role as social workers, or as the program titles them: case workers, is to help people going through possible emotional crises.
Although mental health crisis calls are a large part of their jobs, CAST assists with anything UPD believes is best handled by a social worker rather than an officer. This is so police respondents can assess more logistical aspects of a report if needed.
“Typically, calls come from 911. Dispatch will screen the call and will ask a set of questions they routinely ask and from there, they will consult with our watch commander to see if our assistance is needed,” De Loera said.
De Loera said that they also inform individuals that they can reach out to CAST via Microsoft Teams or by phone if they want to consult prior.
In addition to providing their own services, CAST works alongside other mental health related programs including the Counseling and Psychological Services and Student Health Services.
CAST works as a liaison with these resources, but exclusively offers an extra hand when it comes to the reports called into the UPD.
“We brief on what the call looks like, setting a game plan on what each of our [CAST and UPD] responsibilities are and also seeing with this individual what support that they have,” Lopez said.
The individual is then informed of what the “game plan” is as well.
“We let them know what steps they can take, what we are here for and what we can do,” Lopez said.
UPD Chief John Brockie works alongside CAST on a daily basis. He said that CAST has been a great addition to the team, especially when it comes to mental health related calls.
Brockie said he feels having CAST takes a lot of pressure off of UPD patrol officers.
“In my career I’ve seen more expectations, more responsibilities, on officers with mental health challenges. […] To hear the different calls come out, so many that appear to be mental health type calls, and to hear CAST come on the radio and hear they’re in route,” Brockie said.
While there are no drastic issues CAST has seen over the past year, there are some improvements they wish to make in the future, including expanding their team.
Currently, the CAST team consists of just Lopez and De Loera for all of CSULB’s 39,967 students. While CAST are not the only social workers on campus, they are the only mental health specialists that work directly alongside the UPD.
“Something that [CAST directors] want to do is expand hours and coverage for the weekends,” De Loera said. “We don’t know all the logistics; that would be our supervisors or chief [Brockie]. We are more on the ground. I know it’s something that’s been discussed.”
One note Brockie, De Loera and Lopez made was the lack of non-police vehicle transportation for individuals who need to be transported to an off-campus resource such as a hospital.
Currently, those who need transportation must sit in the back of the UPD police car which Brockie said may be intimidating. Lopez said if a person wanted, the individual can request a social worker to accompany them during the drive.
“One of the goals is to reduce use of force, when we can remove that element, that’s what CAST allows us to do,” Brockie said. “We have not had a use of force where CAST has been on scene.”
Since the CAST program is a newer resource, there are some aspects the program is working on. CAST has faced difficulty in communicating with the different resources across campus. Despite that, as faculty in these departments have become acquainted with CAST, this has become less of an issue.
De Loera said that faculty they work closely with familiarizing themselves with CAST has helped shape the program as they work towards strengthening their efforts.
“The reality with supportive services, the work that we do, it’s collaboration. Not one team or one person can cover all that. We’re really trying to emphasize a holistic effort,” De Loera said.
CAST is the first of its kind in the California Student University system. Although campuses may have similar mental health programs, CSULB has the first team that works directly with other university police departments. Since then, CSULB’s CAST program has helped other universities in the CSU to create similar programs.
The CAST program has been effective in helping UPD with crisis calls and has plans to further expand the program when ready.
