Office of Neighborhoods reinstated in new social worker partnership
EVERETT — For years, when their help was needed, social workers from the Office of Neighborhoods would ride in the back of a deputy’s patrol car to visit local homeless camps.
Once an accompanying deputy ensured their safety, the cops would take a step back — and the social workers would step forward.
Then the office was disbanded for about eight months, as the sheriff’s office reallocated those deputies. The patrol unit was stretched thin as the sheriff’s office struggled to keep pace with hiring. It left the social workers without a police escort to engage with people in high-risk areas.
In February, Sheriff Adam Fortney and County Executive Dave Somers reinstated the program and combined it with the Snohomish County Outreach Team, aka SCOUT, a team of seven social workers that formed during the hiatus. It essentially restored the model that was in place from 2015 to 2022.
https://www.heraldnet.com/news/office-of-neighborhoods-reinstated-in-new-social-worker-partnership/