Council considers welfare-check contract
By Terry Murry on Tuesday, February 8th, 2022 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
COLLEGE PLACE – The College Place City Council meets tonight (Tuesday) at 7 p.m. The agenda includes awarding a welfare-check services contract to behavioral health service provider, Todd Carman-Wagner of Carman-Wagner Consulting, PLLC in Walla Walla and establishing a welfare-check services policy.
New state legislation has changed the landscape of law enforcement-civilian interaction. Law enforcement must still detain a person whom they or a crisis responder have determined meet the requirements for involuntary treatment, however, with the new laws, the appropriateness of welfare-check interaction with citizens has come into question.
Under the new contract, dispatch notifies the College Place Police Department and law enforcement determines it is a true welfare-check request and lets dispatch know that CPPD will not be responding, but that Carman-Wagner will be responding. Once the welfare check is conducted by Carman-Wagner, he reports back to CPPD what he finds or requests that the police department respond if there are suspicious circumstances, or the person is in a medical or behavioral health crisis. CPPD would then make the request for medical personnel or Walla Walla Crisis Response to respond. At that point, the matter becomes a law enforcement action. Carman-Wagner would no longer be involved unless responders wants him to participate.
“While we are still hammering out the details, either CPPD or Carman-Wagner would relay the findings to the concerned person,” College Place City Attorney/Prosecutor Rea Culwell said.
The cost of welfare-check services with Carman-Wagner Consulting, PLLC is $4,000 a year. The behavioral service provider has agreed to be paid the sum of $75 per hour with a maximum per call/check fee of $120.
“We receive three to four requests for welfare checks a month, so the $4,000 pencils out, though I believe the city would expend more as necessary,” Culwell said.
The funding comes from the College Place Police Department budget, and the department will monitor monthly costs.
