Latest / Kendall County News - Shaw Local / Yorkville police seek social worker to field increasing mental health, domestic and juvenile cases

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Yorkville police seek social worker to field increasing mental health, domestic and juvenile cases · Kendall County News - Shaw Local

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  Speaker 1: Yorkville police seek social worker to field increasing mental health,
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  domestic and juvenile cases. This article is being read by
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  an automated voice brought to you by Everlett. As calls
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  involving mental health crises, domestic conflict, and homelessness continue to
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  rise in the Yorkville community, the police department is seeking
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  to add a full time social worker to bring specialized
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  expertise and support beyond traditional law enforcement. If moved forward,
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  the new position would be shared between the Yorkville Police
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  Department and the Kendall County Sheriff's Office. The two agencies
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  would split the anticipated one hundred and thirty thousand dollars
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  annual cost to fully cover salary and insurance expenses. The
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  social worker would be an employee of the City of Yorkville,
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  with the Sheriff's Office reimbursing the city periodically. The proposed
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  full time social worker position is being further discussed during
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  the city's Public Safety meeting on Thursday. In city documents,
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  Yorkville Police Chief James Jensen said the new social worker
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  position would ensure more effective, compassionate, and comprehensive service to
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  the community as the town's population has grown. The police
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  have also seen an increase in substance abuse calls and
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  juvenile and family related issues. These situations often require significant time, coordination,
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  and follow up, areas where a trained social worker can
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  provide a central expertise and long term support, Jensen said
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  in city documents. Between twenty twenty one and early twenty
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  twenty five, the police responded to more than sixteen hundred
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  domestic violence incidents and nearly two hundred juvenile runaway reports.
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  According to the department, offers handle many of these situations
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  despite limited social service training, even with crisis Intervention Team
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  certification and de escalation skills, Jensen said in city documents,
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  timely intervention and ongoing case management would strengthen public safety,
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  improve officer efficiency, and generate long term cost savings through
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  prevention and community stabilization. An addition of a full time
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  social worker would allow officers to focus on law enforcement,
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  The police say. The social worker would be responsible for
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  handling sensitive cases involving juveniles, domestic disputes, and at risk people.
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  The worker would connect people with ongoing support and mental
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  health services. The social worker would also coordinate referrals to
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  mental health providers, housing resources, substance abuse programs, and family
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  support partnerships. The worker would partner with the Kendall County
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  Health Department and the Association for Individual Development AID. The
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  police say the social worker would improve officer wellness by
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  alleviating the emotional and operational burden associated with repeated crisis
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  situations and enhance community trust and outreach. The police department
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  has partnered with a part time social worker for two years.
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  Since twenty twenty four, one hundred eighty four people have
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  been assisted through the program across one hundred and twenty
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  five cases. Cases range from mental health crises, suicidal behavior,
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  domestic violence, elder assistance, veteran support, homelessness, substance abuse, and
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  crime victim advocacy. The police said they often have to
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  prioritize received calls because of current limited resources. According to
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  city documents, the new full time social worker will not
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  be responsible for emergency calls. Emergency calls are currently fielded
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  by AID and their mobile crisis Response team. The new
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  social worker will support aid's work by focusing on post
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  incident follow up, case management, and coordination of ongoing services
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  for individuals and families. The police department's crisis intervention training
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  program came at the forefront of discussions in the wake
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  of the city passing an ordinance to find and possibly
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  jail homeless individuals. The police department said it supported the
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  ordinance after repeated incidents regarding just four homeless individuals in town.
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  During lengthy public comment sessions during city council meetings, several
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  residents argued for expanding resources for social workers within the city.
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  They argued the current system of overlapping social services is
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  confusing to navigate and difficult to achieve immediate and long
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  term support. Through efforts by both residents and the police department,
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  the four homeless individuals were able to receive the assistance
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  that they initially refused. Residents said the ordinance made the
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  process of the homeless individuals accepting assistance more difficult. After
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  vocal encouragement by residents, the city amended the ordinance to
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  prioritize offering social services before any law enforcement actions are taken.
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  The ordinance provides a lengthy timeframe to help encourage the
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  homeless individual to accept social services. Through the department's crisis
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  Intervention training, officers are trained to connect residence from with
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  a range of assistance programs facilitated through partnerships with the
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  Kendall County Health Department, Kendall County Senior Services, Mutual Ground
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  of Aurora, Daybreak Center by the Catholic Diocese of Joliet,
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  and the multi county Continuum of Care Community Action Program