Austin City Council members are scheduled to vote Oct. 22 on proposals to expand oversight and public reporting for No Wrong Door, a city initiative launched in April to connect people experiencing homelessness with help. One proposal from Council Member José Velásquez would create a community advisory group to provide feedback and identify gaps in the program. Potential participants could include organizations such as the ACLU of Texas and Capital Area Private Defender Service. A separate proposal from Council Member Vanessa Fuentes would direct city staff to track and report outcomes, including where participants go for housing and care. The proposals follow early results presented by city staff and Austin police Oct. 6. For 99 people identified as high users of crisis services, contacts fell about 31% from May through August, officials said. The program is part of the city’s response to an estimated 950 people whose repeated interactions with the criminal justice and health care systems cost Austin and Travis County about $137 million a year. Mayor Pro Tem Chito Vela, who represents District 4, said the current approach is not acceptable and expressed support for bringing community partners into the program’s oversight. Velásquez said the changes would help make the initiative transparent and community-led. The program has also drawn criticism from civil-rights advocates and defense attorneys over police officers’ role, including officers speaking with participants in jail. At an Oct. 7 Public Health Committee meeting, Travis County mental health public defender Melissa Sheer said the initiative raises concerns about how clients are discussed and handled. Bradley Hargis of Capital Area Private Defender Service has said some of his clients were affected by the program. He described one case in which, he alleged, a person’s bond condition would have required release only into the custody of a No Wrong Door officer. Hargis said an advisory group would not go far enough without direct involvement from attorneys representing participants. He argued that defense lawyers and case managers may have established knowledge and relationships with people in crisis that program officers lack. Texas law requires police to remain involved in emergency mental-health response: officers are the only first responders the state authorizes to place someone in an emergency mental-health hold. Vela, a criminal defense attorney, said there may still be ways to include lawyers in broader decisions about how people move through the public-safety system. The council’s vote will determine whether the proposed advisory and reporting changes move forward.