Academy trains social workers, police officers

URBANA, Ill. (WAND) - The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign launched a new program that trains law enforcement officers and social workers.

According to U of I police, the one-week academy may be the first of its kind.

"We created it because we needed to and we didn't know if one existed," said Megan Cambron, crisis outreach coordinator for U of I police and the REACH Team.

At the U of I, if someone calls 911 with a mental health crisis, U of I police and a social worker will respond to the call. The department launched its Response, Evaluation and Crisis Help initiative under Police Chief Alice Cary in early 2021.

Cambron told WAND News the community has asked for a response like this, so the department took initiative to create it.

"This is one way that we are listening to what our community wants and changing the way we respond to these kinds of calls," Cambron said.

Sergeant Rachael Ahart has been with the U of I Police Department for 11 years. She also has a masters in social work. Ahart said she's always had an interest in wellness and mental health. She was thrilled to see the REACH unit start and see it grow over the course of a year.

"These types of calls are often outside the skill set that police officers have and our clinicians are trained to a higher degree, so they can appropriately assess and make recommendations of what we need to do and how to best care for that individual in our community."

In addition to the REACH unit, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign launched a training program called the Academy for Social Work and Public Safety Cooperation. It's a 40-hour course that provides foundational training for mental health professionals and law enforcement as they work together.

It was developed by the University of Illinois Police Department and the University of Illinois Police Training Institute.

Cambron is one of the original developers of the academy. She developed it with the late UIPD Lt. Aaron Landers, according to UIPD. She told WAND News that by the time officers and social workers left, they had built a network.

"We discuss things like clinical skills, but we also talk about non-escalation and de-escalation skills," Cambron said.

The course puts an emphasis on clinical assessment of people experiencing mental health related emergencies, with a heavy focus on suicide risk assessment. A large part of the academy involves scenario-based training.

"We are coming at this on how to do the best care for our community members at the same time of keeping everyone safe in the process," Cambron said.

UIPD said they've had schools and departments throughout the state reach out to learn more about the academy.