KINGSTON — The Select Board approved the hiring of a joint police department clinician who would provide mental health-related services to Kingston, Plympton and Halifax, as well as the hiring of a part-time consultant to oversee the new clinician programming. Both positions would be paid by a grant from the Department of Mental Health.
The clinician would assist officers from the three police departments in responding to calls “for individuals exhibiting signs of mental distress and/or any substance use disorders” as part of the Kingston Police Department Co-Responder Program. They would be an employee of Kingston who shares their services with the two other towns.
The Department of Mental Health Jail/Arrest Diversion Program recently approved a grant to fund the position on the condition that the clinician provides their services to all three towns. Halifax’s Select Board has voted to approve the inter-municipal agreement for shared clinician services. Plympton’s Select Board has not yet approved it.
The clinician cannot be hired using the grant money until all three towns sign the agreement, and each town will have input in the hiring process. Detective Lieutenant Michael Skowyra said that Plympton’s Chief of Police spoke positively of the program, and he expects Plympton’s Select Board to approve the agreement.
Skowyra said that clinician co-responders are becoming increasingly more common in Massachusetts, and that they help prevent unnecessary arrests and hospitalizations, allowing individuals with mental health or substance abuse issues to stay active in their community.
“It’s giving the police one more resource to provide the best possible care for the individual,” Skowyra said.
The Select Board also accepted a consultation agreement with Katelyn Leary, a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker, to “support the launch, implementation and sustainability” of the Co-Responder Program as an independent contractor. Leary would assist in hiring, onboarding and supervising the clinician, and would be paid $125 to $150 per hour, also funded by the grant.
“The oversight is going to remain in effect as long as the grant is funding the clinician,” Kingston Police Chief Brian Holmes said. “So DMH will pay for that oversight so that there's checks and balances to the work that the clinician is doing.”
The clinician would work under the new Family Services Unit of the Police Department, established in 2025. They would evaluate individuals for psychiatric and substance abuse issues, provide crisis intervention services, follow up with and explain treatment options to individuals who come into contact with the Police Department, provide mental health training to police officers and more.
In addition to those new positions, the Select Board authorized Holmes to appoint one new patrol officer to fill the position of a longtime officer who retired in December.
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