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Joplin chief: co-responder unit handled 520 referrals in seven months, council urged to budget options
Summary
Joplin's police chief told the council the co-responder unit (three full-time civilian positions funded by Ozark Center and a philanthropic grant) has referred roughly 520 people in seven months with an ~80% connection rate to services; councilmembers discussed creating budget options to sustain and expand the program.
The Joplin Police Department's co-responder unit (CRU) has been operational since October 2024 and, according to Chief Pearson, is currently staffed by three full‑time civilian co‑responders funded and vetted by the Ozark Center at no city payroll cost.
"The unit is comprised of three full time, non‑sworn civilian employees that are funded and vetted by the Ozark Center," Chief Pearson told the council on June 9, describing uniforms, a vehicle and radios supplied through a $50,000 philanthropic grant and other grant funds.
Dale Camp, chief clinical officer at the Ozark Center, said the program has made roughly 520 referrals in seven months and that the team was able to make a positive connection about 80% of the time. "In just 7 months, were 520 referred from our program… and 80 percent of the time, we were able to get that person to make a positive connection," Camp said.
Camp and the Springfield team lead also cited evidence from peer programs showing measurable reductions in criminal justice and emergency‑medical use — Camp summarized peer results as a 24% reduction in arrest likelihood, a 42% reduction in emergency psychiatric costs and a 57% reduction in ER visits where similar models have been evaluated.
Chief Pearson said the CRU helps free officers to focus on other policing tasks by handling the behavioral‑health and case‑management elements of certain calls. He described several cases where the CRU arranged emergency housing, bus tickets for family reunification or follow-up services in lieu of repeated 911 responses.
On funding, Chief Pearson said he would ask the council to approve staff to pursue additional grants. "We're gonna be addressing the council to accept or approve us to go after a couple of grants — I think one's about $500,000, one's about $300,000," he said. Several councilmembers also asked staff to prepare budget options to ensure continuity of emergency hotel stays, bus tickets for reunification and other emergent needs if grant funding is not available.
Councilmembers and presenters agreed the program shows early promise but needs more data and capacity to expand hours (including weekend and late‑night coverage) and to address gaps in emergency sheltering. Council direction included asking staff to draft budget options for consideration in the upcoming budget season and to continue seeking grants.
The chief and Ozark Center representatives offered to return with further metrics and stories from co‑responders as the program matures.
