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Township-funded police social work program links DeKalb residents to crisis care, presenters say
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Summary
Presenters from Ben Gordon said township grant funding expanded police social work time in DeKalb, producing higher referrals and more community stabilizations while reducing emergency department transports; trustees asked about youth and elder services and pledged continued support.
DeKalb Township trustees heard a detailed briefing on Feb. 17 from Ben Gordon clinicians about a police social work program the township has helped fund, and presenters urged continued support to expand staff and dedicated co-response officers.
"For those of you who aren't familiar with our PD social work program, the goal is partnership with local law enforcement with the hopes of reducing some of those 911 calls by having a partner with police and social work," said Christine Maxwell, clinical program director at Ben Gordon. Maxwell described a year-over-year increase in initial referrals in DeKalb, saying the program saw about 566 in one prior grant year and 827 initial referrals in the most recent grant year.
Maxwell and other presenters said the program aims to increase "community stabilization" and reduce unneeded hospital transports. They reported disposition figures showing roughly 52 percent community stabilization in the prior grant year and about 49 percent in the most recent year, with about 29 percent of cases resulting in transport to an emergency department during the township-funded period. Township-supported staffing concentrated around a September–October funding window; presenters said the township grant funded roughly 310 hours of PD social work time for DeKalb that supported about 95 initial referrals and 298 follow-up contacts.
Presenters highlighted several operational features: trialing dedicated co-response officers in June and July (which correlated with higher utilization), adding coverage in jurisdictions including Sandwich and Sycamore, and piloting a 911-dispatch training to transfer appropriate crisis calls to 988 and Ben Gordon's mobile crisis response. Maxwell described the "living room" crisis alternative on Ben Gordon's hospital campus as a lower‑acuity option for people who do not require ED care; presenters emphasized warm handoffs so clients do not have to repeat their histories.
Trustees asked whether the statistics include children and how the program serves elderly residents with dementia or Alzheimer's; presenters said children are included and described coordination with elder-care programs and EMS to identify at-risk older adults and reduce unnecessary ambulance transports. Presenters also said the organization is recruiting one additional social worker and would like more dedicated officer time to create sustainable co-response capacity.
Supervisor Hess thanked the presenters and said the township will continue to support the program. The presentation and trustees' questions signaled support for using township funds to maintain and expand police social work time, while presenters emphasized the need to braid funding and secure dedicated officer assignments to make co-response models sustainable.
