Mental health worker to partner with Maplewood police

A Ramsey County mental health worker will be embedded with Maplewood police and other first responders in an effort to “decriminalize mental illness.”

The Ramsey County Board approved the move Tuesday, assigning one of its mental health professionals to work full time with the suburb’s police, fire and ambulance service.

“We need to decriminalize mental health issues and this is the way to do it,” said Maplewood Mayor Marylee Abrams. “If we can get early intervention with health and human services resources, hopefully we can make a lasting change in peoples’ lives and help them avoid going into full-blown crisis.”

Maplewood is the first Ramsey County suburb to partner with the county in this way. St. Paul police started embedding social workers with officers in 2018.

About 900 of Maplewood’s nearly 13,000 emergency medical and police calls, roughly 7%, were mental health related, including 51 calls for suicides in progress, according to Maplewood Fire Chief Michael Mondor.

Some people call 911 a dozen times or more per month describing emotional crisis including hallucinations and suicidal thoughts, according to first responders.

In response, Maplewood police and firefighters/paramedics formed the mental health outreach team within its own ranks in 2019. Until now, they worked without the assistance of trained social and mental health staff.

The team reaches out to those frequent 911 callers who exhibit symptoms of mental illness and their families, offering to meet regularly to discuss how they can help.

Sometimes, it is connecting people to services. Other times, it is encouraging them to stick to their already-prescribed therapy and medication routines. In all cases, it is a calmer, safer opportunity to talk through issues than a panicked 911 call.

But there’s a limit to the time and expertise police and paramedics devote to case management, Mondor said.

This allows for a coordinated handoff to a county professional who can connect people with services and long-term case management, Mondor said.

Maplewood Public Safety Director Scott Nadeau said this strategy reduces arrests and emergency situations that can escalate quickly.

“The more you are dragging mentally ill people into the criminal justice system, it’s a worse outcome for them and it’s a worse outcome for our community,” Nadeau said.

County commissioners praised the new partnership as communities across Minnesota and the country explore new strategies vs. traditional police/fire/EMS emergency response.

“I think it’s so critical to community health and community public safety,” said Commissioner Victoria Reinhardt, who represents Maplewood. “If there is a mental health crisis happening, they need the services we provide.”

Shannon Prather • 651-925-5037

rn{% endblock %}"},"start":"https://users.startribune.com/placement/1/environment/3/limit-signup-optimizely/start"},{"id":"limit-signup","count":12,"action":"ignore","mute":true,"action_config":{"template":"{% extends "grid" %}rnrn{% block heading_text %}Youu2019ve read your 10 free articles for this 30 day period. Sign up now for local coverage you wonu2019t find anywhere else, special sections and your favorite columnists. StarTribune puts Minnesota and the world right at your fingertips. {% endblock %}rnrn{% block last %}rn{{ parent() }}rn{# limit Krux pixel from https://www.squishlist.com/strib/customshop/328/ #}rnrnrn{% endblock %}"},"start":"https://users.startribune.com/placement/1/environment/3/limit-signup/start"},{"id":"meter-desktop-331","count":10,"action":"ignore","mute":false,"action_config":false,"start":"https://users.startribune.com/placement/1/environment/3/meter-desktop-331/start"},{"id":"PDA991499opt","count":9,"action":"ignore","mute":true,"action_config":false,"start":"https://users.startribune.com/placement/1/environment/3/PDA991499opt/start"},{"id":"limit","count":8,"action":"inject","mute":false,"action_config":{"template":"

rnrnrnrn

rn

rn

rn rn

rn t

rn SUBSCRIBErn Already a subscriber? Log in.rn

rn

All Star Tribune readers without a Digital Access subscription are given a limited number of complimentary articles every 30 days. Once the article limit is reached we ask readers to purchase a subscription including Digital Access to continue reading. Digital Access is included in all multi-day paper home delivery, Sunday + Digital, and Premium Digital Access subscriptions. After the 1 month Premium Digital Access introductory period you will be charged at a rate of $14.99 per month. You can see all subscription options or login to an existing subscription herern

rn rn

rn

rn

rn

rn

rn"},"start":"https://users.startribune.com/placement/1/environment/3/limit/start"},{"id":"nag","count":7,"action":"lightbox","mute":true,"action_config":{"height":null,"width":"630px","redirect_on_close":null,"template":"{% extends "shell" %}rnrn{% block substyles %}rn

rn{% endblock %}rnrn{% block page %}rn{#rnrn{{ limit - count - 1 }}rnrn{{ form.flow_form_open({nextAction: 'firstSlide'}, null, null, '_top') }}rn {{ form.btn('Save Now') }}rn{{ form.flow_form_close() }}rnrn

rnrnrnu2022 rnrnrnrn#}rn

rn

rn

You have {{ limit - count - 1 }} articles left

rn

rn rn u00a0u00a0u2022u00a0u00a0rn rn

rn

rn

rn

rn Save More Todayrn

Over 70% off!

rn

rn

rn

rn

99u00a2 for first 4 weeks

rn {{ form.flow_form_open({nextAction: 'firstSlide'}, null, null, '_top') }}rn {{ form.button('Save Now', 'btn nag-btn') }}rn {{ form.flow_form_close() }}rn

rn

rn{% endblock %}rnrn{% block last %}rn{{ parent() }}rnrn{% endblock %}"},"start":"https://users.startribune.com/placement/1/environment/3/nag/start"},{"id":"x","count":4,"action":"ignore","mute":true,"action_config":false,"start":"https://users.startribune.com/placement/1/environment/3/x/start"},{"id":"multi-start","count":3,"action":"fly_in","mute":true,"action_config":{"location":"bottom_left","slide_direction":"bottom","group_id":null,"display_delay":"0","collapse_delay":"10","template":"

rn

rn

rn

rn u00d7rn

rn

rn

From just

rn

$3.79 99u00a2 a week

rn Save nowrn

rn

rn

"},"start":"https://users.startribune.com/placement/1/environment/3/multi-start/start"}]};