McHenry County police, social worker team up to address difficult cases

As the first line of defense for the Cary community, Deputy Chief Scott Naydenoff and his fellow police officers have seen it all.

They're called to cases of substance abuse, mental health issues and domestic violence. They deal with people who are despondent, homeless or in financial trouble. They often find themselves returning to the same homes and handling the same cases time and time again.

The problem isn't a lack of resources, Naydenoff said, pointing to well-funded programs and agencies throughout McHenry County. It's that police officers aren't always equipped to handle such crises.

"We realize we are not social service professionals," he said. "The truth of the matter is this: As a police department, you're going to continue going to the same residences ... until the underlying issue that's causing the problem is dealt with."

After talking with Naydenoff, the county's mental health board launched a pilot program in March giving police departments access to a shared case manager, Cristina Mendoza, in hopes of bridging the gap between law enforcement and behavioral health services, Executive Director Scott Block said.

The goal is to reduce recidivism and ensure residents are getting the help they need, said Mendoza, a social services professional with the Aurora-based Association for Individual Development.

"Sometimes a uniform can intimidate the community, and that right there builds a barrier," she said. "But when you have somebody who works with the officers but is also there primarily for the community, that makes a difference in how they perceive the department."

The Cary and Algonquin police departments were the first to sign on to the program. Crystal Lake and Woodstock have since joined, and Huntley police officials say they are strongly considering jumping on board.

Through the program, officers in participating agencies can refer behavioral health cases to Mendoza, who then performs a needs assessment, meets with the individuals involved, and determines what resources could be most beneficial for them.

In nine months, Mendoza has accumulated 126 cases. Some include multiple people from the same family. The most common are those related to mental health, substance abuse or domestic issues, she said, but each client's needs are different.

"We take it one step at a time," Mendoza said. "We communicate with the client, ask them to tell us how we can help them, and then I just meet them where they're at."

Mendoza spends one day per week at each department while also making home or out-of-office visits. Her schedule can be readjusted if a crisis arises, she said.

Though the program initially was to end in the spring, the mental health board last month agreed to extend it through November 2018. Contracting out for AID's services costs $50,093 for one year, Block said.

Ideally, he said, each participating police agency would absorb its portion of the program's costs at the end of the pilot program. In addition to preventing repeat offenders, he said, the program has the potential to reduce long-term costs associated with arrests and court processing.

AID, which offers a similar victim services program in Kane County, aims to eventually expand the McHenry County program by adding case workers and getting more police agencies involved, said Joanne Furnas, vice president for behavioral health services.

Lake in the Hills is the only department in the county to have a permanent social worker on staff, according to the Association of Police Social Workers.

"(Police) like having somebody in-house that the officer can become familiar with," Furnas said. "Our hope is that other police departments come on board and can really see the value of this."

Though a funding plan isn't in place yet, the Algonquin Police Department intends to continue the partnership beyond next year, Deputy Chief Ryan Markham said. So far, he said, Mendoza has had a significant effect on some of the community members with whom officers interact regularly, including elderly individuals or troubled youth.

Cary police, too, have received positive feedback and seen great results stemming from the collaboration with Mendoza, Naydenoff said.

"Our officers have a mechanism now (for) when they're handling a situation like this ... and the social worker can follow up in a much more appropriate and effective way than a police officer ever could," he said. "I think it's been very well received."