President Trump signed an executive order on June 16 incentivizing states and localities to undertake a series of police reforms. The order calls for law enforcement officers to partner with social workers and mental health providers for calls related to mental health, homelessness, and addiction.
The order seeks to incentivize law enforcement agencies to provide additional training and development of co-responder programs, which “involve social workers or other mental health professionals working alongside law enforcement officers so that they arrive and address situations together.” The order also charges Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar to conduct a survey of community support models and develop recommendations on reallocating funding to support adoption of co-responder programs.
Over-policing of homeless communities and the administration’s contentious record on homelessness has left advocates questioning how the executive order will be carried out. Further, the order does not address root causes of homelessness such as the lack of affordable, accessible homes for the lowest-income people.
Read the executive order here: https://tinyurl.com/ydddbh5o