Wauwatosa is using federal pandemic relief funds to hire a social worker to work with police, health departments

The city of Wauwatosa is using federal coronavirus pandemic relief funds to hire a social worker to work alongside the city's police, fire and health departments.

The position, which has yet to be filled, will be funded using American Rescue Plan Act funds. The city, which received $24.6 million from that plan, is still deciding how to allocate the majority of those funds.

The social worker position would be the first of its kind for the city, as the employee will focus primarily on addressing mental and behavioral health issues for city residents.

The social worker could respond and do follow-up visits with individuals who struggle with opioid use, those who have developmental disabilities, older adults in an unsafe living situation or other similar scenarios, according to Wauwatosa health officer Laura Stephens.

"Mental health has been exacerbated by the pandemic, so we're really seeing a lot of need in our community, and we're hoping that the social worker can be just one way we help try to address that," she added.

Social worker wobn't respond to 9-1-1 calls

The social worker won't respond alongside police officers to a call for service.They would likely focus on follow-up visits after a crisis instead.

“Problems arising from mental health struggles or substance use disorders call for trained medical professionals and social workers who can help identify long-term strategies rather than arrest or incarceration,” said Wauwatosa Police Chief James MacGillis.

It's also possible that the position could deal with panhandlers or the homeless in the city after a new ordinance passed by the common council in August was aimed at limiting panhandling and median activity in several of the city's busiest intersections.

The ordinance, which carries a fine of $25 to $500, bans people from "approaching vehicles when in use or staying upon medians for purposes other than crossing the street."

"So, making sure that we're not just handing them a slip of paper with some resources or giving them a phone number but really helping them access that system and making sure they get those long-term resources that they need," Stephens said.

The position should be filled in early 2022; that person's office will be housed in the health department, according to a draft of the Wauwatosa executive budget.

"This position will assist individuals dealing with chronic mental or behavioral health issues but may not be experiencing an immediate crisis, which is often handled through different processes. By addressing chronic needs, a social worker will help reduce the burden of work on other staff who are not equipped to handle these cases," the Wauwatosa budget says about the position.

The specific day-to-day duties for the position are still being thought out, as the opening for the position will soon be advertised.

More Wauwatosa officers being trained in CIT

The position was a recommendation in a study that researched the policies and practices of the Wauwatosa Police Department. That study, performed by the Center for Public Safety Management, said the department should hire a "licensed professional counselor" for the Wauwatosa Police Department.

The study suggested the counselor work directly with police officers to "provide ongoing training in dealing with mentally ill persons and homeless persons, and review body camera video from all mental health calls for service to provide guidance to officers on how to enhance their handling of this type of call for service with the primary focus on safety and de-escalation techniques."

The Wauwatosa Police Department is working to train more officers in crisis intervention.

Crisis intervention training pairs training and community partnerships to identify mental health resources for those in crisis. The goal is to keep both officers and those with mental illnesses safe.

The Wauwatosa Police Department is looking to train the entire department in CIT by 2025.

Some police departments across the country are using social workers to respond to some mental health-related calls, including in Harlem, where mental health professionals and EMTs are responding to calls through a pilot program. That pilot program has reduced the rate of hospitalizations for people in crisis, according to data released by New York City.

Meanwhile, the Waukesha County Sheriff's Office is embedding a full-time mental health professional to address the rising number of calls to law enforcement that are related to mental health.

Working out of the sheriff's office, that employee will have access to real-time information when calls are made to the office. When they're dispatched on a mental health-related call, they'll arrive at a similar time as law enforcement.

Evan Casey can be reached at 414-403-4391 or evan.casey@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter @ecaseymedia.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wauwatosa is hiring a social worker for the city