WATERLOO – Social workers will ride with Waterloo police officers under a new partnership to address local mental health needs, officials announced Monday.
The City of Waterloo has announced that Waterloo police officers will be joined by social workers for calls involving persons in crisis or in need, thanks to a new partnership.
According to KWWL, the police department s new partner is the Elevate Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) in Waterloo. Elevate is funded by the Cares Act.
Since the beginning of 2021, social workers from Elevate CCBHC have been going on calls for persons in crisis, or those dealing with mental health impairments. The partnership will allow those social workers to be implanted into the police force and to continue to respond, along with officers, to certain calls. Waterloo Police announced on a media call that there are currently three social workers embedded in the department, with the plan for one of them to work each shift.