National Conference 2024

Presentations Offered at the Third Annual National Conference on Police Social Work Included:

Ethical Challenges in Police Social Work

This presentation reports the findings of a follow-up study of ethical challenges for police social workers and police social work interns embedded in police departments throughout the U.S. The aim of this study was to explore the ethical challenges and to understand the ethical climate faced by social workers in police departments. The questionnaire was informed by the NASW Code of Ethics. The data are from an online survey of social workers and interns currently practicing within law enforcement agencies. Results suggest that police social workers need clear practice standards, guidelines, and policies, but overall most felt positive about their acceptance and ability to practice safely and within ethical standards. The initial questionnaire yielded a small sample so this study sought to expand the responses as the population of police social workers grows around the country. The findings support the development of a set of best practices for police social work with respect to standards of client confidentiality, boundaries, social work roles, safety policies, and strategies. The identification of ethical challenges will support social workers and law enforcement professionals to enhance interdisciplinary practice.

Situational Awareness
Situational awareness involves the perception of elements in the environment, comprehension and analysis of what these elements mean and how they relate to one another, and mitigation of any potential risks or dangerous events. This presentation will explore basic safety concepts, verbal and nonverbal indicators of potential danger, and the importance of perception and planning. Additionally, this presentation will highlight ways to maintain safety before, during, and after interactions with clients/subjects to ensure that everyone goes home safely at the end of their workday.

Police Social Workers and Critical Incidents
On February 20th, 2019, Willimantic Police Officer Keith Edele was involved in an Officer-involved shooting, when he was forced to confront a violent suspect who had opened fire on him and other Police Officers following a car-jacking incident and police pursuit. Detective Edele fired several rounds at the suspect, and after the suspect fell to the ground, Detective Edele, who is also a SWAT Team medic and EMT, began rendering first aid to the suspect, who later passed away. While all of this happened in several short minutes, the aftereffects of this incident continued for weeks and months afterwards, and Detective Edele’s path through the mental and physical trauma of this event will give attendees the perspective of the Officer in incidents like these. This presentation will also explore the role of Police Social Workers during critical incidents such as officer-involved shootings.

Use of Force Familiarization
Whether working in the collaborative or integrated model, any Social Worker working in a police department will see use of force incidents. In 2024, the need for accountability and transparency in use of force incidents has never been more important, and this workshop will elaborate on the factors that lead up to a police use of force incident, how Police Officers are trained to use force when necessary, and the laws and legal precedents that apply to use of force.

Trauma-Informed Mindfulness:  Practices to Promote Regulation and Resilience
Trauma is an event or series of events that is highly stressful, profoundly difficult to integrate and can leave us feeling overwhelmed, helpless, and profoundly unsafe. It has been said that trauma “leaves traces on our minds and emotions, our capacity for joy and intimacy, and even our biology and immune system” (van der Kolk). The landmark Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) study demonstrated that trauma is shockingly commonplace. Individuals who have endured trauma can experience significant psychological distress marked by intrusive memories and flashbacks, as well as, intense feelings of shame, self-blame, and guilt. Offering mindfulness practices to individuals who have experienced trauma can be a highly effective approach to support well-being and recovery. However, asking individuals to pay focused, sustained attention to their experience can be challenging and potentially dysregulating, thus, it is important to offer mindfulness meditation in a trauma-informed manner. This workshop will offer theory, practices and skills to effectively and safely support trauma survivors.

Not All Therapies are Created Equal: Using ART to Bring Relief to the Traumatized
Trauma is all around us. Having effective and efficient resources is paramount to treating others who suffer from PTSD.  While there are many modalities to treat trauma, not all are created equal. This workshop gives an overview of the available options, while diving deeper into the modality of Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART). This modality is a quick and effective way to bring relief from triggers caused by lingering images and sensations. We will explore how memories are stored and how this relates to the modality of ART. Combining both the science of memory reconsolidation along with the use of bilateral stimulation, clients have a chance to transform the way their brain and body stores traumatic memories. Changing the way the brain stores these critical memories brings about much needed relief. The bonus is that it takes very few sessions to do this when using Accelerated Resolution Therapy.

A Police Social Work Integrative Practice Model: Addressing Stabilization, Recidivism, and Unnecessary Arrests
Police Social Work continues to be an emerging field, with parameters being developed. This workshop highlights the growing research supporting an integrative police social work practice model with ethical practice standards specific to this challenging field. Ultimately demonstrating how police social workers address stabilization, recidivism, and unnecessary arrests.

Yoga for You: How to Incorporate Tactical Stretching Into Your Department Wellness Programs
Lt. Coney and Trooper Coutu will provide a presentation on the physical and emotional benefits of stretching for law enforcement and how to incorporate into department wellness programs.  No prior yoga experience (or flexibility!) is required. Lt Coney (200 hour certified Yoga Teacher) and Trooper Coutu (CT State Police Lead PT Instructor) will demonstrate and lead the group in easy stretches that can be taught to recruits, sworn personnel, and civilians that are accessible enough to be conducted at a desk, in a cruiser, or in gym.

Practical Aspects of Peer Support and Officer Wellness
This comprehensive multidisciplinary course will provide participants with information of how to create and implement a peer support team on both a state and regional levels. The information provided will also address the following: implementing and running a peer team, how to support peer team members, ethical concerns, agency concerns, and legal concerns. In addition, the training will focus on maintenance of a peer team and building a Chaplaincy Program.

Collaborative Pathways and Mixed Model Approaches
Communities nationwide are embracing the integration of behavioral health practices into law enforcement response methods. The Portland Police Department has been a Law Enforcement-Mental Health Learning Site for the Council on State Governments since 2010. This presentation explores the advantages of utilizing both co-response and alternative response teams in assisting police officers with calls for service related to mental illness and substance use. This workshop highlights the value in creating community partnership, fostering collaboration, and utilizing grant funding opportunities at the intersection of social work and law enforcement.

Growing Pains: Cross-Agency Collaboration in Public Safety Social Work During Emergence of Mobile Response and 988
Last June, the bipartisan United States Conference of Mayors (2023) published a report about public safety responses to mental health crises. The report stated that 97 percent of 117 cities reported increased requests for mental health services over the last two years. Mental health issues are increasing among communities and first responders, and the way we respond to the crisis increasingly involves social workers and community partners. Additionally, the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline has contributed to increased mental health funding, but there are still gaps, and states are wrestling with how to support 988 as federal funding decreases (SAHMSA, 2023). These changes in the funding landscape have led to subsequent growing pains for officers, social workers, and community partners, who must navigate collaborations and avoid duplication of services. Lack of coordination has serious consequences and diminishes the importance of mental health efforts. Given the multifaceted funding and political context, university partners may be well-positioned to help police and other agencies navigate these challenges. This interactive presentation will provide a brief overview of the national mental health landscape, explain on-the-ground strategies for better coordination, and explore new roles for university partners who want to support the efforts.

Impact of Departmental Culture on Officer Wellbeing
This workshop will review the impact of departmental culture on police officers’ psychological wellbeing and officers’ willingness to go beyond the core requirements of their role in serving the public with additional consideration paid the mitigating impact of psychological safety and whether an officer is CIT certified.

Advancing Intentional Systemic Change
The Social Work Code of Ethics clearly articulates that social workers have an ethical mandate to advocate for systemic change. However, the vast majority of social workers elect not to engage in the macro task of policy advocacy. This void of engagement prevents impactful system change for those we serve. While rich with expertise, many social workers are unsure how to engage in system advocacy. This session with connect our ethical obligation with practical skills. 

Community Care: Successful Police Social Work Partnerships in the Rural South
In rural communities, we know that many calls for help from law enforcement are actually calls for help with social issues – including homelessness, substance use, mental health needs, and domestic violence. While law enforcement can and does respond to these calls every day, understanding and addressing the root causes of these issues goes beyond the training and typical role of a law enforcement officer. Compounding this issue is the fact that many rural communities lack the financial resources to hire additional support. Our solution was to create a program that we named “Community Care,” which embeds social workers and social work student interns in rural police departments. The Community Care model has been developed through collaboration between the Sylva Police Department and Western Carolina University’s Departments of Social Work and Criminology and Criminal Justice. Currently in five agencies and growing at a rate of three additional agencies per year, we’ve created a blueprint to help other rural areas effectively partner with universities to address this growing need. In this workshop, we’ll share what we’ve learned and how to get your own program started.

Crisis Response in Michigan’s Capital City
Societal trends are moving away from police being the only primary response to behavioral health crisis, in favor of social workers and other collaborative teams handling these types of calls. This presentation will describe the various ways crisis calls are being handled in Lansing, Michigan’s capital city, by social workers collaborating with CIT-trained law enforcement and other community providers. This presentation addresses the history of police-social work collaborations, the creation of new crisis response teams in Lansing, and how the City is redefining the way it responds to crisis and behavioral health calls to engage community members.

Enhancing Community Well-being: A Collaborative Approach between the Waterbury Police Department and Community Organizations
This presentation explores the innovative collaboration between the Waterbury Police Department and various community organizations, aimed at improving services for the city’s most vulnerable citizens. By fostering partnerships with social service agencies, non-profits, and other community entities, the Waterbury Police Department has implemented a multifaceted strategy to address the complex needs of individuals facing unique challenges. The presentation will highlight successful initiatives, such as joint outreach programs, community engagement efforts, and information-sharing mechanisms, emphasizing the positive impact on public safety and the well-being of at-risk populations. Attendees will gain insights into the transformative power of inter-agency collaboration, witnessing how the synergy between law enforcement and social workers can yield more effective and compassionate responses to diverse community needs. The presentation will underscore the importance of building trust and cultivating relationships within the community to establish a foundation for successful partnerships. As law enforcement and social workers play pivotal roles in addressing societal challenges, this collaborative model serves as a compelling example of how collective efforts can lead to a safer, healthier, and more resilient community.

Survive and Thrive: Stress Management Through Humor
Social workers working with law enforcement personnel are compassionate people at risk for job stress. and burnout. Police Social Workers work in stressful environments providing interventions to individuals and families experiencing mental illness, substance abuse, domestic violence, and child abuse. Stress and burn out occur frequently in the field of Police Social Work and humor can play a significant role in self-care. Humor has begun to gain recognition and acceptance as a valuable tool in the mental health and health care fields. Humor has been viewed as a way of looking at a situation from a different point of view, diffusing a crisis, and providing an opportunity for increased insight. Humor can enrich our lives, move us psychologically and stir us physically. Humor produces the opposite psychological response to stress. Humor is an attitude, or a way of being, which can be incorporated into the police social workers frame of reference. Understanding factors which foster humor will provide an approach to creating humor. This workshop will explore the benefits of using humor to reduce stress and prevent burnout.

Building and Bridging Community on College Campuses with Social Work Law Enforcement Collaborations
Recent research has centered on communities’ bridging gaps in care with social work and municipal law enforcement partnerships, little formal research has highlighted this same inter-professional practice on college campuses. This interactive workshop will provide insights on how the social work-campus police model was applied at a large Mid-western University. Presenters will highlight how this model was put in place and how it could be expanded to other colleges and universities.  One of the keys to this inter-professional team being developed that will be highlighted is the partnership between the School of Social Work Field Team with the University Police Department. Researchers will share the results of their qualitative case study that considers the perspectives of University Administrators, Campus Police, and School of Social Work Field Faculty.

Hartford’s HEARTeam: Launching Dual Co-Response and Community Response Alternative 911 Response Models – Planning, Challenges, and Successes
Key stakeholders, including the City of Hartford’s Office of Community Safety and Wellness and public safety departments alongside community agencies, will present on planning- and launch-stage decisions, challenges, and successes of the Hartford Emergency Assistance Response Team (HEARTeam) initiative.  We will describe the composition of the teams and roles of each of the various partners, as well as adaptations over the course of the first two years.  We will address the challenges in responding to calls for youth in crisis and how we continue to expand our call types for both youth and adults.

Police Social Work in Small to Mid-Sized Police Departments: Potential for Positive Community Impact
This article discusses the concept of police social work (PSW), which is a specialized field of clinical social work that provides services within law enforcement. The article highlights the problem of police officers being forced to act as social service providers due to the lack of social services in most police departments. The solution proposed is to embed social workers within police departments to provide immediate or early intervention, thereby diverting potential re-offenses away from the overwhelmed justice system. The article emphasizes that social workers are not intended to replace police officers but rather to complement their services. The benefits of having a social worker embedded within police departments are also discussed, including immediate response for distressed individuals, minimizing the time police officers spend on non-criminal calls, and timely referrals to residents in need of therapeutic and social services. The article concludes that by working together, social workers and police officers may guide in navigating the channels of social support, which can lead to a stronger, comprehensive solution to the complex problems faced by society.

The COHR Solution – A Community Response to a Fragmented System
Research confirms that Individuals with Mental Illness and substance use disorder are significantly overrepresented in the criminal justice system. In this interactive workshop, we examine the reasons for this and how we conceptualize an integrated public health and public safety model as an effective intervention point to prevent and defer individuals from the criminal justice system. This work led to the establishment of a low bar access clinical unit, Community Outreach, Help & Recovery (COHR), within the Somerville Police Department. COHR functions as a co-located service utilizing a cross discipline lens which allows for multi-system communication to inform assessment and collaboration. Services include assisting individuals with quality of life issues, diversion from pre and post adjudication, trauma informed care, and short term clinical support. In addition, COHR is a regional Training & Technical Assistance Center (TTAC) for Crisis Intervention Team (CIT). In this workshop, we will review cases, the importance of COHR’s location within the police department, and how this informs CIT training to achieve positive outcomes for both community members and law enforcement.

Extending Support to Law Enforcement Families
This presentation explores the need for extending wellness efforts in law enforcement beyond officers to include their families. As the response to address officer mental health continues to rise, emerging is an increased need to also address the unique challenges that law enforcement families face without a supportive network. While there are resource and organizational limitations, the presenter will discuss the low-to-high-barrier efforts departments can make to take strides toward building a family-supportive agency. The presentation will encompass family wellness resources, gauging the agency’s internal and family interests, organizing department-family events, and more. Finally, the presenter will also discuss the challenges faced during the development stages of the programming.

Functional Fitness for Law Enforcement
This workshop will challenge participants to re-think traditional police training methods and develop an understanding for true functional fitness for law enforcement. Learn how the brain and body can be used to simulate high-intensity incidents through basic exercise which will augment muscle memory, teach adrenaline control, and help reduce fear and anxiety. Be empowered individually and collectively to have safe and effective encounters.