A new partnership between the Lee County Sheriff’s Office and a local nonprofit aims to help those with developmental impairments during their most vulnerable moments.
Sheriff Carmine Marceno on Jan. 21 announced a partnership with Cape Coral-based Family Initiative. A responding deputy may request the assistance of a clinician trained to help someone who is “on the spectrum”.
“This collaboration connects our agency with licensed clinical professionals who support our work,” Marceno said.
Marceno said the clinicians are available for consultation and can respond directly to active scenes when a situation warrants an immediate response.
“This added layer of expertise helps ensure safer outcomes for the child, for the family and for our deputies,” Marceno said.
All patrol requests for clinical assistance will go through the agency liaison within their Community Response Unit, Marceno said. The liaison will triage each request and determine the appropriate level of response.
The outcome could also involve dispatching a social worker, Marceno said. Crisis care K9s may also be available, depending on the circumstances.
“[I] really hope, moving forward, we see more law enforcement agencies take this approach that Lee County has,” said David Brown, co-founder and president at Family Initiative.
Tomas Rodriguez is a Breaking/Live News Reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. You can reach Tomas at TRodriguez@gannett.com or 772-333-5501. Connect with him on Threads @tomasfrobeltran, Instagram @tomasfrobeltran, Facebook @tomasrodrigueznews and Bluesky @tomasfrodriguez.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Lee sheriff partners with local nonprofit to help those with autism
Reporting by Tomas Rodriguez, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News / Fort Myers News-Press
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