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Police reform: Pilot program connects mental health pros and officers on 911 calls

Akron Beacon Journal - 10/20/2021

A new pilot program in Tallmadge is seeking to reduce the number of individuals with mental illness who end up in jail by giving police officers 24/7 access to social workers during 911 calls.

If successful, the program could be expanded to the rest of Summit County.

"There's all this talk about police reform and defunding the police, and this idea is a little different," Tallmadge Police Chief Ronald Williams said. "We can handle it, but let's find a way to do it better. The focus is on just trying to provide better services to that part of the population."

More: Denver successfully sent mental health professionals, not police, to hundreds of calls

In the past few years, police departments across the country have been rethinking the way they respond to mental health crises, with some cities like Los Angeles and San Antonio partnering with mental health professionals to work as "co-responders." Other cities, like Denver and Eugene, Oregon, send mental health professionals, rather than police, to some emergency calls.

Many of these reforms come as public outcry against police shootings continues. According to a Washington Post database of fatal shootings by on-duty police officers, since 2015, policy have fatally shot 1,495 people with mental illness, including 48 in Ohio.

More: Akron officials explore a civilian response to non-violent, low-priority 911 calls

In Summit County, the Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services Board has funded Portage Path Behavioral Health to create a new countywide crisis model to help and develop a structure for Emergency Support Services.

On Oct. 1, they launched the Tallmadge pilot program that connects officers to the Emergency Support Services Team of licensed clinicians at Psychiatric Emergency Services — via phone call, FaceTime, or in-person — to help assess situations involving mental health crises, determine next steps and develop ongoing personalized safety plans.

The program is part of the county's Stepping Up committee, which was created in response to the national Stepping Up initiative that asks counties to develop action plans to reduce the prevalence of mental illness in jails.

According to Stepping Up, people with mental illness are admitted to jails 2 million times each year. Almost three-quarters of them are also struggling with addiction, and once incarcerated, they tend to stay longer in jail and are at greater risk of returning to jail.

Fifty-five of Ohio's 88 counties, including Summit, are currently working on their own Stepping Up initiatives.

Summit County's Stepping Up subcommittee is chaired by Portage Path Psychiatric Emergency Services coordinator Amana Marunich and Akron Police Sgt. James Donohue. It includes representation from the ADM Board and affiliated agencies, safety forces and community partners.

MORE: Franklin County recognized for 'Stepping Up' to help mentally ill jail inmates

"We are currently developing a collaborative structure for Emergency Support Services and are committed to build a solid system of care and resources to meet the needs of those who are experiencing crises," Marunich said.

The pilot also builds upon the county's 21-year-old Crisis Intervention Team program, which educates officers about mental illness and teaches them de-escalation techniques to reduce harm to themselves and to the individuals involved in mental health crisis situations.

In Tallmadge, all but two officers are already CIT trained, and 100% of the department will be trained by the end of the year, according to Tallmadge Officer and ADM Board funded CIT coordinator Ralph Stover.

Marunich said that Tallmadge was chosen for the program because both Stover and assistant CIT coordinator Gina Greenhalgh work in Tallmadge.

Stover explained that dispatchers are already trained to send a CIT-trained officer to 911 calls involving mental health crises. In the past, officers would either resolve the situation; determine that the individual would benefit from getting immediate help at Portage Path Behavioral Health Psychiatric Emergency Services; or decide that the individual needs to be transported to a hospital.

"The pilot program's basic idea is to offer another avenue of support," Stover said. "We can call in and talk to the clinician. It takes the decision out of our hands, and then the mental health professionals can set them up with resources and tell us where to take them."

The program also expedites the follow-up process and better connects individuals with resources and options, Marunich added.

Outcome data will be analyzed at the end of the first quarter of the program, and may be expanded if there are fewer individuals with mental illness in the local jail, decreased psychiatric hospitalizations for individuals experiencing mental health emergencies, increased connection to mental health services, and improved satisfaction among members of the community.

"It's an exciting time for Summit County in terms of mental health and we're in a pivotal transition," Stover said. "Mental health is huge and it really effects law enforcement. We're trying to find better ways to support the community. People want to de-police these types of calls, so we want to find a balance to help police better serve them and give them more support and resources."

Reporter Krista S. Kano can be reached at 330-541-9416, kkano@thebeaconjournal.com or on Twitter @KristaKanoABJ.

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