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Framingham Jail Diversion Program
Quick Facts:
- Name of coordinating law enforcement agency:
- framingham police dept
- Approximate number of officers in agency:
- 120
- Primary specialized response:
- Mental health providers, often as members of a mobile crisis team, are called in by law enforcement to provide crisis intervention at the scene.
- Program start year:
- 2005 or earlier
- Total number of officers in program:
- 125
Framingham Jail Diversion Program
Contact:
- Name:
- Craig Davis
- Title:
- Deputy Police Chief
- Organization:
- Framingham Police Department
- Address:
- One William Welch Way
Framingham, MA - Email:
- cwd@framinghamma.gov
- Phone:
- 508-620-4926
Agency Information
- Name of coordinating law enforcement agency:
- framingham police dept
- Type of government that operates law enforcement agency:
- Township
- Approximate number of officers in agency:
- 120
Specialized Response Description
- Program start year:
- 2005 or earlier
- Primary specialized response:
- Mental health providers, often as members of a mobile crisis team, are called in by law enforcement to provide crisis intervention at the scene.
- Secondary specialized response:
- Mental health professionals partner with law enforcement officers to provide on-scene crisis intervention and referral.
- Background information:
- The Framingham Police Department partnered with Advocates Inc.(local mental health crisis team) to provide a mental health clinicain housed at the police station. The clinician responds to police calls that involve someone who is mentally ill. The purpose is to divert people with mental illnes away from arrest (and the criminal justice system) and direct them to more appropriate community based mental health resources. The program has provided a procative, humane and long term approach to our police departmetn's response to people with mental illnes.
- Total number of officers in program:
- 125
- Number of people with mental illness served:
- More than 500
- Catchment area:
- The entire jurisdiction
- Funding source(s):
- Private foundation grant funding
- Staff supported by funding:
- MH Service Provider (e.g. case manager, social worker)
Program Partners and Personnel
- Existence of planning and oversight committee:
- Yes, currently
- Committee participants:
-
- Law enforcement supervisory-level staff
- Law enforcement leadership
- Mental health (and/or substance abuse) line-level staff
- Mental health (and/or substance abuse) supervisory-level staff
- Mental health or advocacy agencies that participate in program:
- Advocates Inc.
- Written agreement of roles and procedures:
- Yes
- Recruitment and selection:
- all officers have embraced the clinicians assistance
- Program coordinator/boundary spanner
- program coordination is shared by police and mental health agency
- same
Training on Mental Health Issues
- Types of training on mental health issues:
-
- Basic in-service training for all patrol officers
- Basic in-service training for dispatchers and / or call takers
- 4 hours bi annual
- Advanced in-service training for select patrol officers
- 20
- 4 hours bi annual
- Number of officers who receive advanced training:
- 1-50
- Groups who conducts advanced training:
- Mental health professionals (crisis workers)
- Advanced training topics:
-
- Recognizing symptoms of mental illness, and clinical issues
- Co-occurring disorders
- Community resources (mental health services, etc.)
- De-escalation techniques
- Less lethal use of force options
- Suicide prevention
- Advanced training methods:
-
- Presentations (including panels, lectures, and/or PowerPoints)
- Ride-alongs
- Videotapes
Response Procedures
- Standardized dispatch questions:
- No
- Dispatch documentation:
- Document in central computer database used for all calls, such as a Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system
- Incident documentation by responding officer:
-
- Relay information to dispatch who records it in general computer database used for all calls, such as a Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system
- Record information in an arrest report
- Use of information on individuals' mental illness stored in police records:
- the mental health clinician collects the information and stores them in a secure records area
- Mental health professional available to support police responder:
-
- Yes, on site (e.g. mobile crisis team)
- Yes, both on-site and remotely
- Officers permitted to transport people with mental illness to services when:
- The person has volunteered to receive mental health treatment
- The person is being brought to a hospital for emergency evaluation
- The person is being brought to a crisis center or other health care facility for stabilization or medications management
- Officers allowed to transport a person without handcuffs:
- yes- general transports i.e. stranded motorists etc. however someone with mental ilnes are always transported via ambulance
- Access to drop-off locations:
- Yes. It is open 24 hours a day.
- Procedure for streamlined intake and a "no refusal" policy for police referrals?
- Yes
- Location of drop-off center(s):
- General hospital emergency room
- Drop-off center accepts people with co-occurring substance abuse disorders:
- Yes
- Length of time for drop-off and return to patrol:
- 0-10 minutes
Program Sustainability
- Data collection:
- Yes
- Published evaluation:
- Silvia Pearlman, Dougherty Management Associates Inc.
- Local media coverage:
- Metro_West Daily News June 5, 2003, November 17, 2003 Boston Globe March 14,2004
- Legislative funding or support:
- Our program was recently approval for funding as a line item in the Massachusetts State budget under Health and Human Services division.
About this information:
A program representative provided this information details through a detailed survey.
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