New Orange County program to direct some 911 calls to social workers
SANTA ANA, Calif. (KESQ) - In a partnership with the Orange County Health Care Agency, the Orange County Sheriff's Department today began a program to refer some emergency calls to social workers in an effort to better allocate resources.
By the early afternoon, seven calls to 911 were referred to the experts at the Health Care Agency. Officials expect that the average will be about 70 a month.
"There's a gain on both sides in efficiency'' with the new program, Sheriff Don Barnes said in an interview Wednesday.
Health Care Agency Director Veronica Kelley said the advantage for her department is, "We can get to them earlier" before some residents spiral down in a mental health crisis.
Kelley said there are "frequent flies'' who didn't get connected to social services before things went bad. But now the process of helping them can start earlier for some, she said.
The other advantage for a Health Care Agency response instead of a deputy is, "We follow up with the individual,'' Kelley said.
Barnes said his department has long prided itself on its policy, "If you call we will come.'' But now that's been redefined to if residents call 911 someone best suited to respond will visit, he said.
"It's a cultural change for us,'' Barnes said.
Said Kelley: "We're excited about this continuing collaboration. Other jurisdictions could learn from this."
Part of what prompted the new policy was a review of data from sheriff's responses that led to use of force, Barnes said. The data showed that in some cases a deputy shouldn't have been dispatched at all and that a social worker would have been a better-trained professional to address the crisis, the sheriff added.
The main criteria now for 911 dispatchers is to determine is there a risk to the public or is a crime being alleged, Barnes said. If not, then the call is referred to the Health Care Agency.
The sheriff's deputies are trained to help anyone experiencing mental health issues, but the Health Care Agency's staffers are "trained at a much higher level," Barnes said.
Calls for help involving mental health are trending up, Kelley and Barnes said.
In March 2024, sheriff's dispatchers started "triaging'' calls for service involving mental health issues and sending them when appropriate to a Behavioral Health Line operated by the Health Care Agency. The new policy announced Wednesday refines that process and applies it to 911 calls.
About 240 calls have been referred to the agency's OC Links program.
The sheriff's department receives about 10,000 calls annually for services related to mental health. Last year, the Health Care Agency received 43,789 calls and contacts to the OC Links line and there were 10,892 responses from clinicians.
