JOHNSON COUNTY, KS August 8, 2024 – The Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative (PAARI) was excited to feature members of the Johnson County Co-Responder program in its Partner Spotlight Series on Tuesday, July 30. This monthly series highlighted exceptional PAARI partners, and July’s spotlight was on the impactful work being done in Johnson County, Kansas using law enforcement deflection and diversion.
The webinar showcased Jessica Murphy, LMSW, Emergency Services Deputy Division Director at Johnson County Mental Health Center (JCMHC), and Sergeant Stewart Brought of the Overland Park Police Department. They discussed the county’s co-responder program, which pairs mental health professionals with law enforcement to respond to crises.
Jessica Murphy brings over 18 years of experience in the mental health field. As the team leader for the Johnson County Co-Responder program since 2017, she has initiated three new programs and expanded four existing ones. Under her leadership, the team grew from 11 co-responders to 20.5 positions by 2021. In 2022, she was promoted to Deputy Division Director, overseeing co-response and mobile crisis services. Murphy was instrumental in implementing the “alternative/civilian responder” model in Johnson County, which includes the Mobile Crisis Response Team (MCRT). This team deploys mental health professionals to crises, minimizing the need for law enforcement intervention when possible.
Sergeant Stewart Brought, with over 15 years of law enforcement experience, leads the crisis action team at the Overland Park Police Department. He is Crisis Intervention Team-certified, a member of the department’s peer support team, and the handler for Haven, the team’s professional therapy K9, who was also part of the webinar.
Sgt. Brought and I were grateful for the opportunity to share our work in Johnson County with other PAARI partners. We enjoyed engaging with attendees and discussing our program’s successes and challenges,” says Jessica Murphy.
“We were thrilled to have Jessica, Sgt. Brought, and Haven join us for our July Partner Spotlight Series. This series was created to showcase PAARI partners who are pioneering successful and innovative deflection programs, and Johnson County’s Co-Responder program is a perfect example,” says Zoe Grover, PAARI Executive Director.
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ABOUT JOHNSON COUNTY CO-RESPONDER PROGRAM: The Mental Health Co-Responder Program embeds a mental health clinician from Johnson County Mental Health Center (JCMHC) within most of the police departments within Johnson County. The goal of the program is to provide the right intervention at the right time in an effort to prevent unnecessary arrests, decrease trips to the emergency rooms and reduce repeat calls for service for our law enforcement partners.
The Co-Responder’s primary responsibility is to respond on scene with a law enforcement officer on calls when behavioral health is identified as a possible contributing factor. Additionally, Co-Responders conduct outreach and follow-up calls to individuals who had police contact as a result of a behavioral health crisis, with the intention of getting the individual the help they need to avoid future police contact.
To learn more about JCMHC’s Co-Responder program, please see Johnson County’s Co-Responder program: new solutions for law enforcement’s interactions with mental health or see our Johnson County Co-Responder Coverage Map to see the county’s Co-Responder coverage and contact information.
ABOUT PAARI: The Police Assisted Addiction & Recovery Initiative (PAARI) is a nonprofit organization with a mission to help law enforcement agencies nationwide create deflection programs (I.e.non-arrest pathways to treatment and recovery). Founded alongside the groundbreaking Gloucester, Mass., Police Department Angel Initiative in June 2015, PAARI has been a driving force behind this rapidly expanding community policing movement. We provide technical assistance, strategic guidance, connection to training resources, and other capacity-building resources to more than 700 police departments in 46 states.
PAARI works with more than 160 law enforcement agencies in Massachusetts alone. PAARI and our law enforcement partners are working towards a collective vision where non-arrest diversion and deflection programs become a standard policing practice across the country, thereby reducing overdose deaths, expanding access to treatment, improving public safety, reducing crime, diverting people away from the criminal justice system, and increasing trust between law enforcement and their communities. Our programs and partners have saved tens of thousands of lives, changed police culture, and reshaped the national conversation about the opioid epidemic since its founding in June 2015. Learn more at paariusa.org.