Multiagency COaST program reports successful first year

Lake County Sheriff John Idleburg and the six partner agencies are proud to share the success of their multiagency Crisis Outreach and Support Team collaborative initiative in responding to mental health-related calls.

The team became operational in January 2022 and consists of members from the Gurnee Police Department, Lake Forest Police Department, Libertyville Police Department, Lincolnshire Police Department, Mundelein Police Department, Vernon Hills Police Department and the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. A police officer from one of these local agencies and a sheriff’s deputy from the sheriff’s office partner with a social worker, clinician or peer specialist to respond to mental health-related calls.

Since the inception of the multiagency team, COaST has responded to dozens of mental health calls. This has allowed trained professionals to spend as much time as necessary with the person in crisis and allowed the responding deputies or police officers to return to emergency calls for service.

One of the many examples of COaST’s success occurred during a call of a teen with autism behaving aggressively. The COaST clinician and accompanying officer were able to spend a substantial amount of time with the teen and the teen’s mother. This allowed the local police agency to return to routine calls for service. COaST was able to calm the teen, provide therapeutic techniques to help the mother and offer services to the mother for her own mental care.

When not responding to mental health calls, COaST conducts resource visits with individuals who had prior interaction with law enforcement. Police officers and sheriff’s deputies who interact with someone they feel could use follow-up services submit a request to COaST. Since January 2022, 1,559 requests were made to COaST from the partner agencies. Of those requests, COaST successfully contacted 1,164 individuals and offered assistance.

One of the many examples of a successful follow-up occurred when COaST followed up with a mother whose juvenile son recently was hospitalized for a suicide threat. The COaST officer and clinician were able to provide a number of resources to the mother, along with structured steps to take with her son upon his discharge from the hospital. The mother was grateful and continued following up with COaST to inform the team of her son’s improvements.

COaST is supported in part by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.