DeKalb council funds police social-work co-response pilot for another year

The DeKalb City Council on Jan. 12 approved one year of funding to fully support police social workers assigned to co-respond with DeKalb Police Department officers, a partnership run by Northwestern Medicine’s Ben Gordon Center.

Sabrina Nicholson, director of Northwestern Medicine Behavioral Health Services and the local Ben Gordon Center, told the council the program’s pilot months showed that when a dedicated officer was paired with a social worker co-response counts rose from roughly 10 a month to 35–43 in a month and that the pilot period produced a 15% reduction in transports to local emergency departments. Nicholson described the program’s follow-up model: social workers typically keep in contact with clients for about 30 days to link them with services and address related social determinants of health.

City Manager Nicholas explained the program has been in partnership with the city for several years and that the recommended one-year appropriation fully funds existing social workers’ time at the DeKalb Police Department; the city seeks to expand to three full-time social workers (one per shift) as capacity and funding allow.

Alderman Larson moved and Alderman Zazada seconded bringing Resolution 2026-006 to the floor; after brief questions from council about program outcomes and follow-up, the council approved the resolution by roll call. Staff and presenters said the city’s funding would fully cover the social workers’ time at the PD and that staff will continue to evaluate outcomes and report back to council.

Next steps: the one-year funding is in place; staff and Northwestern Medicine will continue outcome tracking and bring additional information to council about whether further staffing increases are warranted.