Date of Award

5-2022

Document Type

Project

Degree Name

Master of Social Work

Department

School of Social Work

First Reader/Committee Chair

Joseph, Rigaud

Abstract

As first responders, law enforcement officers and mental health professionals are constantly sought after regarding the delivery of critical services to people in need. However, the COVID-19 pandemic brought almost everything to a halt. It is therefore important to understand how social services were delivered during the crisis. It has been assumed in the literature that interprofessional collaboration is an important service delivery framework. However, because COVID-19 is a relatively recent public health phenomenon, relevant studies on interprofessional collaboration between law enforcement officers and mental health professionals are scant, if not non-existent. This qualitative study addresses this gap by exploring (a) how mental health services had been delivered in San Bernardino County during the COVID-19 pandemic and (b) whether working collaboration between mental health and law enforcement professionals had impacted mental health service delivery in San Bernardino County during the COVID-19 pandemic. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 police officers and mental health professions during the Spring 2022 Semester (N = 21). Thematic analysis of the data generated four major themes: (1) across San Bernardino County, mental health services had been delivered to a degree during the COVID- 19 Pandemic; (2) mental health and law enforcement professionals utilized various strategies to cope with the challenges of the COVID-19 Pandemic; (3) a broad range of factors made the delivery of mental health service possible during the COVID-19 Pandemic; and (4) inter-agency collaboration could prove to be useful during times of crisis. The qualitative findings carry major implications for social service organizations, law enforcement, social work, and public health.

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