HB 6543 Summary

• Creates the office of social work and police partnerships within the Department of Health and Human Services to coordinate social worker and law enforcement collaboration in target communities.

• Establishes a competitive grant program providing up to $2,000,000 annually per local unit of government for deploying social workers, licensed professional counselors, or psychologists to partner with law enforcement agencies to respond to mental health, substance abuse, and homelessness calls.

• Requires 1:2 local matching funds for grants and mandates grant recipients report annual data on call responses, referrals, arrests, jail admissions, recidivism rates, and client outcomes.

• Creates a 15-member Social Work and Police Partnerships Advisory Council including social workers, formerly incarcerated individuals, law enforcement officers, crime victims, and legal professionals to recommend target communities for grant funding.

• Establishes the Social Work and Police Partnerships Fund within the state treasury to support grant distributions and office administrative costs.