Nashville program pairing police, mental health workers will expand this month

A Nashville program that pairs mental health workers with police officers will expand to a third precinct this month, leaders announced Thursday.

The program, known as Partners in Care, launched last June and is still in its pilot phase. It operates in the city's North Precinct and Hermitage Precinct. It will expand to the Central Precinct by May 15, according to Amanda Bracht, who is the senior vice president of clinical services at Mental Health Cooperative.

Bracht announced the news during a quarterly stakeholders meeting for the program Thursday morning.

The program's team of mental health clinicians works out of the Mental Health Cooperative's Crisis Response Center. A mobile crisis team that serves all eight police precincts is also based there.

Leaders also hope to expand the program to the South Precinct by the end of the year, though plans are not yet set, Bracht said.

The program teams masters-level mental health clinicians with Metro Nashville Police Department officers on calls flagged as potential mental health crises, aiming to divert people in crisis to intervention and resources rather than the legal system.

The program is supported by over $560,000 in federal funds through the American Rescue Plan, a news release from Nashville Mayor John Cooper said. Cooper included plans to double the program in his latest budget proposal, in coordination with the Mental Health Cooperative.

A snapshot of data from the third quarter of the pilot program was also presented during the meeting.

The teams responded to 234 calls during the program's third quarter, which stretched from Dec. 29, 2021, through March 28. That adds to 535 calls in the first quarter and 286 in the second — a total of 1,055 calls.

Just 4.3% of the calls led to arrests in the third quarter, totaling 10 arrests. Two people were injured during calls and 1.7% of calls included use of force, the data showed.

By the numbers: Call outcomes and demographics

Of the 234 calls teams handled in the program's third quarter, 45.9% required crisis assessment and 25.3% resulted in someone being taken to an emergency room. More calls came from the Hermitage Precinct, which made up 62.5% percent. The North Precinct totaled 37.5% of calls.

Here's a look at the rest of the third quarter data presented in the meeting.

Call outcomes

• 41.3% resulted in community referrals or connections to resources

• 25.3% resulted in someone being taken to an emergency room

• 9.9%r resulted in someone being taken to the Crisis Treatment Center

• 7.5% resulted in someone being taken to an inpatient facility

• 6.5% resulted in people refusing resources or intervention

• 4.1% resulted in collection of collateral information from a person's support system

• 3.4% of calls resulted in someone being taken to jail

• 1.7% of calls resulted in offering support or building rapport

• 0.3% of calls were listed as "other" outcomes

Demographics

Gender

• 52.4% male

• 46.9% female

• 0.7% unreported/refused

Age

• 12.9% were ages 0-17

• 9.2% were ages 18-24

• 28.9% were ages 25-34

• 19% were ages 35-44

• 11.9% were ages 45-54

• 9.9% were ages 55-64

• 8.2% were ages 65 and up

Race

• 36.7% identified as white

• 34.7% identified as Black or African American

• 24.5% did not provide race information or race was unreported

• 4.7% identified as "other race"

Ethnicity

• 72.1% identified as not Hispanic or Latino

• 26.2% did not provide ethnicity information or ethnicity was unreported

• 1.7% identified as Hispanic or Latino

Housing

• 66.7% rented or owned their homes

• 22.4% were unhoused or in temporary emergency housing

• 5.8% were unreported or refused to provide housing status

• 5.1% were in a group or transitional home

All data reported are provisional and subject to change.

Find reporter Rachel Wegner at rawegner@tennessean.com or on Twitter @rachelannwegner.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville program pairing police, mental health workers to expand