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Pleasant Prairie board approves placement of full-time social worker in police department
Summary
The Village Board approved placing a full-time social worker within the Pleasant Prairie Police Department, a county–village behavioral health collaboration funded by a state grant and $34,794 from the village’s opioid settlement funds to improve suicide screening, lethal-means counseling and linkage to services.
The Pleasant Prairie Village Board voted to approve the placement of a full-time social worker inside the village police department, a collaboration between the village, Kenosha County Behavioral Health Services and a state grant. The board approved the program during the regular meeting after staff described the role and funding sources.
The police chief told the board the position is intended to "improve suicide screening and care processes," introduce lethal-means counseling and "oversee the distribution of firearm safety items within the village of Pleasant Prairie." He said the position is not intended to replace officers: "That is not this." The chief said the effort grew from several years of discussions with Carrie Foss, the county’s director of behavioral health, and agency site visits.
Staff framed the position as a front-line prevention and response resource. The chief presented local data, saying: "From 2020 to 2025, 60 percent of all suicide deaths that occurred in the village of Pleasant Prairie involved a firearm," and that overall suicide deaths in the village increased by about 67 percent between 2020 and 2025. He also reported that around 40–41 percent of crisis-intervention requests in recent years involved people with suicidal ideation.
The village’s portion of the fiscal impact will be paid from opioid settlement funds; staff identified $34,794 as the amount to be used from those funds. The village will also provide office space, a desktop computer, phone lines, a vehicle for responses and limited access to records-management information allowed to be shared. Village staff clarified the board was approving the program placement at this meeting; the formal funding and contract mechanism will be handled through the village’s budget process later.
A board member moved to approve the placement of the county social worker in the police department and the motion carried without recorded opposition. The board congratulated the chief after the vote.
What’s next: Staff will bring the specific budget/funding action through the village’s budget mechanism and coordinate final agreements with Kenosha County and grant administrators.
