The creation of a brand-new position at the Morgantown Police Department hopes to serve as a bridge between the police department and the community.
The department’s first ever police social worker, Kelly Rice, was hired to provide direct service and outreach to individuals who are unsheltered, experiencing mental illness, abusing substances or otherwise facing crisis.
Rice, a licensed clinical social worker, earned master’s degree in social work from West Virginia University and has an extensive background working with victims of mental health issues, domestic violence, addiction and more. She also has experience with compassionate releases, criminal thinking, victim impact and crisis intervention.
Rice previously worked as a drug treatment specialist for FCI Morgantown, a case manager for Hope Incorporated Shelter and, most recently, as a social worker for the United States Penitentiary in Hazelton.
After retiring from the Federal Bureau of Prisons and realizing she was not quite ready to be done, Rice said she started looking for her next move.
“I really felt like it would be a good transition for me since I came from criminal justice and I was working as a social worker in the criminal justice system,” she said.
Rice and MPD are still in the information gathering phase to determine exactly what the social worker role will look like. Rice said she has reached out to several agencies in Kentucky that employ social workers and will be speaking with some police social workers in the Lansing, Mich., police department to see how they navigate the position.
“Folks that police encounter could really benefit from that extra support that a social worker could offer –whether that’s a mental health crisis, substance abuse, homelessness, that kind of thing,” Rice said. “So what I am trying to figure out now is how to get to those people.”
For now, during work hours, she can be called to the scene once officers deem it safe to do so. If she is not working, or the scene is not secure, officers can give Rice’s contact information to the individual at the scene. That way, the person in question can touch base with Rice and provide his or her own narrative.
“They’ve given me a car, but, you know, I am just in regular clothes,” she said. “It’s something that is a little different – when the police show up you don’t always see someone else show up who is not in uniform.”
With the rise in mental health issues, homelessness and substance abuse since COVID, Rice said, “people’s first reaction sometimes is to call the police when there is a crisis and sometimes that is not necessary. It might be a call that somebody else can handle and the police didn’t need to be involved.
“I’m hoping that just by me having my information out there it will relieve the police of a lot of non-emergency calls and be an extra resource for them,” she said.
Rice said for now she is working on getting her name out in the community and letting people know she is available. She said she wants everyone to get used to her being there and use her as a resource. And while there is a bit of a learning curve, Rice said she is excited to see how things play out.
“I think it’s something that could really benefit everybody, because I think it’s a great bridge between law enforcement and the community agencies and things like that. That’s my goal. I’m hoping to be that kind of connection,” she said.
Rice can be reached by email at krice@morgantownwv.gov or by phone at 304-282-7492.
