The Embedded Mental Health Professional Program

About the Program

Category: Human Services (Best in Category)

Year: 2023

The Embedded Mental Health Professional program embeds Waukesha County Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) masters-level clinicians within the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department (WCSD). Launched in 2021, the collaborative program between the two departments focuses on improving the mental health response by deploying clinicians in real-time and incorporating clinicians into 911 call flow operations. Clinicians are based out of the Sheriff’s Office and deploy to mental health calls separately of deputies. This program has been successful in reducing law enforcement time on mental health calls, identifying people in need of mental health intervention, and diverting people experiencing a mental health crisis from the criminal justice system. In 2022, the successes of this model compelled Waukesha County leaders to expand the program to partner with Waukesha Police Department and Waukesha County Communications 911 Dispatch. These renewed partnerships have set the foundation to replicate the successes of the program county-wide. This program revealed how historical protocols contributed to the over-reliance on law enforcement to intervene on mental health situations, and it has set the framework for an innovative mental health response model that is in the best interest of the community, law enforcement and taxpayers.