MOUNT VERNON – Mount Vernon City Councilwoman Samantha Scoles wants Safety-Service Director Rick Dzik to hold a joint meeting with local social service agencies to discuss the City's plans to hire a community advocate for the Police Department.
The advocate would refer people with mental health needs to social service agencies.
To fund the position, the Knox County Foundation awarded the City a two-year, $100,000 grant; and $20,000 was promised by a private donor. The social worker hired for the position would have a $63,000 annual salary, with benefits that would cost approximately $30,000 per year. The ordinance to create the position had its second reading on Monday night and will require a council vote at its third reading to enable Police Chief Robert Morgan to hire a qualified applicant.
The police chief told City Council that the social worker hired for this position would triage cases in which police were called but that also involve mental health issues, Scoles said. That would involve paperwork to connect the city residents with local agencies.
"I don't want to send an advocate out to talk to someone in crisis and not know what, if anything, that next agency is going to do to them," Scoles said. "I want to be assured that these people are going to receive help."
Scoles asked Dzik to hold a meeting with the local agencies to introduce what the City plans, so that they can learn what those agencies think about the ideas and what information the community advocate would need to provide to them. She wants the City and those organizations to work together to make sure the community advocate does not simply hand over an assessment and then nothing happens to help any person who gets a referral to them.
Councilman Tanner Salyers said if council was told that one out of three EMS calls could be serviced by a medical device costing $30,000 to $50,000, they would buy it with no questions asked. This recommendation is backed by best practices and data for modern law enforcement and health care.
"But I want to also say even if there wasn't grant funding or private donations out there, this is the future of policing and we need to recognize that and respond accordingly," he said.
Mental health is one of the single biggest contributing causes for police encounters, along with the increased potential for use of force.
"Let's take the opportunity to be proactive and not wait for an incident," Salyers said.
Council President Bruce Hawkins and others want to make sure an accurate assessment of the community advocate's work is planned so the City can determine if it is effective.
Councilwoman Tammy Woods suggested the city contract with existing, experienced social workers to avoid creating the perception that the community advocate is just another police department employee. She has heard community feedback about how the job is perceived.
"We had a really great turnout at Coffee with the Council," Woods said. "And to a point, every single person said, 'Why in the world would you make (the advocate) an employee of the police department? You are upsetting people right away.'"
