Johnson County Sheriff’s Office will move mental health liaison position in-house

The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office at the end of October will end a contract with CommUnity Crisis Services which provided a mental health liaison to the Sheriff’s Office, and two other Johnson County police departments.

Instead, the Sheriff’s Office is planning to hire its own mental health liaison as an internal employee.

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“This is an important position that takes on a lot of roles and is in situations often handled by law enforcement. To that end, I feel it is very important to provide this position a salary and benefit package that the County can offer as a Sheriff’s Office employee. I’m glad we can continue this same service and compensate with our salary and benefits,” Johnson County Sheriff Brad Kunkel told The Gazette in an email.

The position was created in 2022 through a contract between CommUnity and the three law enforcement agencies — the Sheriff’s Office and the Coralville and North Liberty Police Departments.

Funding for the first year of the position came from the Mental Health/Disability Services of the East Central Region of Iowa. In the second year, the agreement stated CommUnity would pay 75 percent of the cost of the position, with the law enforcement agencies picking up 25 percent. In the third year, the agencies would increase their portion to 50 percent, and in the fourth year it would increase to 75 percent.

The employee was hired by CommUnity and worked directly with law enforcement to respond to and follow up on mental health crises that officers encounter.

“Nothing will change with the role or focus of the mental health-law enforcement liaison and that is to increase access to resources for people in crisis and reduce the amount of interactions with law enforcement officers,” Kunkel said.

A new agreement has not yet been finalized between the Sheriff’s Office and the other two law enforcement agencies, but Kunkel said he hopes to still be able to share the liaison between the three municipalities.

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Sarah Nelson, CEO of CommUnity Crisis Services, said that if the current liaison is not hired by the sheriff’s office for the new in-house position, CommUnity is prepared to offer her a different position with the nonprofit’s Mobile Crisis/Law Enforcement program. Nelson declined to share the name of the current liaison.

“We value the partnership we’ve had with the Johnson County Sheriff's Office and were disappointed to hear of the decision to bring the Mental Health Liaison role in-house,” Nelson said in a statement. “At CommUnity Crisis Services, we provide specialized expertise and infrastructure for Mental Health Liaison positions, which has been instrumental in offering diversion services to residents.”

CommUnity still provides mental health liaisons to other law enforcement agencies in Eastern Iowa, including the Iowa City Police Department and multiple Iowa County agencies. A posting on the CommUnity Crisis Services website reports that its law enforcement liaisons responded to 538 mental health related calls and follow up referrals in 2023.

“After the initial call, liaisons follow up with the client to check on their progress, connect them with local resources, and even help with things like making doctor appointments or accessing food assistance programs,” the post states.

A job listing for the new Johnson County position lists the salary range as $71,052.80 to $85,280.00 annually. The East Central Region is funding half the cost of the position, according to Kunkel.

Comments: (319) 398-8328; emily.andersen@thegazette.com