By Sherre Greenbaum
Wayland Post Contributor
Lauren Keating, LMHC, has been hired as the town’s first co-response clinician/social worker. The addition of this professional position to the Wayland Police Department is part of the ongoing effort to increase access, treatment and services for community members with substance use and mental health disorders.
A jail diversion program (JDP) is an initiative that redirects individuals with mental and substance use disorders from the criminal justice system to community-based treatment and support. The primary goal is to reduce or eliminate arrests and jail detention and facilitate more appropriate outcomes.
A JDP with a co-response component embeds a mental health professional in a police department to ride along on emergency calls to de-escalate a crisis situation and assist with mental health, substance use and overall behavioral health needs.
The town manager’s Opioid Settlement Working Group identified the need for a mental health professional linked to the Wayland Police Department early on in its discussions. The co-response concept as part of a JDP was vetted at a town forum a year ago and fine-tuned to meet the strict criteria for the expenditure of opioid settlement funds and the needs of the community. The clinician was envisioned to serve all age groups, including the often underserved demographic between school age and senior citizens.
In communities with JDPs, the vast majority of residents presenting with potentially criminal behavior are diverted from arrest and directed into treatment. Individuals who are not able to be diverted (more serious crimes/mandatory arrests) also receive support, resources, and referrals from the clinician while in police custody.
Police departments report that the number of emergency room visits and re-occurring calls have decreased as community members struggling with addiction and mental disorders are getting more follow-up support, access to treatment and referrals for additional services if needed.
Keating comes to Wayland from Waltham, where she has handled many diverse situations as a mental health specialist since 2022. She will be an integral part of the police department and based in the Public Safety Building.
The first Co-Response JDP in Massachusetts was in 2003 at the Framingham Police Department. This model, a collaboration between law enforcement and mental health treatment, has been effectively replicated across Massachusetts, including in Wayland’s neighboring towns.
Programs that rely on grant funding from the Department of Mental Health (DMH) to finance their mental health clinicians could be severely impacted by the proposed FY26 state budget cuts from $18 million to $3.8 million. Many towns are rallying their residents to contact their legislators to oppose these reductions that will affect public health and safety.
When Wayland’s DMH grant application was denied, the Opioid Settlement Working Group went ahead, financing the position with available opioid settlement funds which had accumulated in a dedicated town account. Acquiring the expertise necessary to successfully implement a JDP co-response model is encouraged under the state-wide settlement agreement.
