DeKalb police, social worker collab meant ‘to reduce need for future emergency calls’

DeKALB – To help ensure continuity of service, the DeKalb City Council at a recent meeting gave a green light to solidify an agreement between the city and a local mental health clinic to embed social workers in police response to behavioral health concerns.

It is all made possible, in part, due to $135,714 authorized by the city to the Northwestern Medicine Ben Gordon Center in DeKalb.

DeKalb Patrol Cmdr. Steve Lekkas said it’s no coincidence that the city has decided to reaffirm its commitment to the program.

“It’s helped divert many calls from officers,” Lekkas said. “We don’t have to have officers on the street responding to things that really are suited for social workers. So, it really helps divert a lot of those calls for service, and then it also helps de-escalate a lot of times when somebody’s in crisis. The social workers are able to have a relationship that preexists that crisis. They might know each other already, and they’re able to respond and help de-escalate the situation and make it safe for everybody involved.”

The idea of the partnership between the city and the Northwestern Medicine Ben Gordon Center originally got its start in 2018. Around that time, the DeKalb Police Department, with assistance from the Department of Justice, established and approved a strategic plan for enhancing mental health services.

One item outlined in the plan finds that an embedded social worker was a high priority for addressing service delivery in the community.

Lekkas said the need for the program has been evident for a long time.

“It was a really big drain on our resources because we’re sending officers multiple times a day to deal with the same people for things that really weren’t criminal,” Lekkas said. “A lot of people called 911 for a lot of stuff that might not necessarily be a police issue. It’s just everybody knows to call 911 and ask for an officer when, in reality, it’s better handled by a social worker.”

DeKalb Mayor Cohen Barnes recently touted the program for supplying officers with the added resources needed to do their job.

“I think it’s just fantastic that our officers now have the support they need when they encounter a situation that is outside their skill set to be able to engage with the right professionals to make sure these people in DeKalb that are experiencing the issue that they might be having can get to the right help,” Barnes said.

Authorities said the partnership is made possible thanks to a co-responder relationship between sworn police officers and a team of three social workers.

One challenge that the program faces is meeting the full-day coverage demands, Barnes said.

“I really look forward to the day when we can get all three shifts covered, but one thing at a time,” Barnes said.

If officers receive a call for service that is perceived to be behavioral health-related, social workers will co-respond to the incident.

If officers know it’s not a crime and it’s safe, then officers will divert those calls immediately to the social workers.

Between June 2022 and June 2023, social workers made contact with about 1,280 individuals as part of the social worker liaison program, whether in person or by phone, data shows. That’s compared with about 1,770 individuals contacted between July 2023 and June 2024. Between July 2024 and March, social workers made contact with about 1,950 individuals, data shows.

Lekkas said the police department hopes it has made a dent in the mental health crisis.

“Success for something like this, it’s difficult to gauge,” Lekkas said. “Because it’s not like somebody with a behavioral health issue is just going to suddenly never have a police-related issue ever again. But if we can minimize the issues that they’re having or at the least make sure they get services for as long as possible, it’s just like somebody who’s in addiction programs. They may be getting help, and then they might relapse. It’s similar in that regard.”

In a statement, Northwestern Medicine Ben Gordon Center behavioral health services director Sabrina Nicholson emphasized the success that the program has had.

“The partnership between the Northwestern Medicine Ben Gordon Center and the DeKalb Police Department has helped connect thousands of individuals with behavioral and mental health services,” Nicholson said in a statement. “We are excited to continue the social worker liaison program and help address the issues that are triggering 911 calls for help. By connecting residents with resources right away, the goal is to reduce the need for emergency calls in the future.”

Nicholson pointed to the various ways the Ben Gordon Center helps in serving as a resource to the community.

“The Ben Gordon Center also offers support through its walk-in crisis center, the Living Room, where counselors provide on-the-spot counseling services 24 hours a day for adults,” Nicholson said in a statement. “The center also offers support as the 988 mobile crisis response team, where they respond to anyone, anywhere, anytime 24/7. The social worker liaison program with the DeKalb Police Department, the Living Room and the Mobile Crisis Response Team are helping meet the high demand for mental health and addiction services.”

This summer, the police department intends to form a new behavioral health unit.

It will entail pairing one of the school resource officers with the social worker program.

Lekkas said the police department’s intent with moving forward with a behavioral health unit is to build rapport.

“The goal with that would be to see if one officer then would build relationships with a lot of the people that are getting help from the program,” Lekkas said. “Because all the officers do a great job, but you have that one person who’s got a relationship already and everybody knows, and it kind of builds a comfort level with the people in the behavioral health community.”