The first steps of a multi-faceted plan to change the way officials respond to certain mental health crises are underway in Albany County. On Wednesday, Albany County Legislature Chairman Andrew Joyce, Deputy Chairwoman Wanda Willingham, Legislator Matthew Peter, County Executive Daniel P. McCoy, Sheriff Craig Apple and Department of Mental Health Director Dr. Stephen Giordano announced that they have joined forces to create a response unit that will handle certain incoming non-violent calls for assistance. The new initiative will be referred to as the ACCORD – the Albany County Crisis Officials Responding and Diverting – program.

The ACCORD program creates new response teams which will consist of social workers from the County’s Mobile Crisis Team joined with EMTs from the Sheriff’s Office to respond to situations where law enforcement is not paramount and a situation may be more appropriately handled by mental health professionals and/or paramedics. These unarmed responders would be dispatched by the Albany County Sheriff’s Office. Instances including non-violent mental illness and addiction may trigger the dispatch of the ACCORD.

“Through our budget making and legislative process, we always look for ways to establish great partnerships among subject matter experts, and to innovate,” said Chairman of the Legislature Andrew Joyce. “We will not be defunding the police in Albany County. What we will do is re-imagine policing, and create the necessary collaboration between our officers and mental health professionals. We believe this will result in making Albany County residents safer.”

The Sheriff’s Office and Department of Mental Health are currently working with officials from various communities who have similar programs, including the Portland, Oregon-based CAHOOTS program that has become a model to other communities looking to build similar alternative programs. Officials expect to build Albany County’s model starting with a pilot program in the County’s hilltowns that can eventually be expanded throughout the County and adjusted to fit local municipalities systems.

“We have a tremendous opportunity to build this program out and tailor it to the various needs of our diverse county,” said Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple. “We firmly believe that we will be successful, which means that individuals needing services will get them provided by those who are best equipped to give them and it allows our deputies to be handling crime and enforcing the law.”

“Our Mobile Crisis Team has done an extraordinary job in delivering first rate mental health services to some of those most in need in our communities, having  received a total of nearly 2,200 calls last year alone. This new pilot program will allow us to expand these efforts, while saving taxpayer dollars by ensuring we’re not sending law enforcement to calls for nonviolent offenses,” said Albany County Executive Daniel P. McCoy. “This initiative is an innovative plan that will focus on getting people the services they need quicker and more efficiently.”

The partnership between the Sheriff’s Office and the Mental Health office will require the sharing of resources including staff and records and coordination while deciding when dispatch of the unit is needed. ACCORD would build on the success of the County’s mobile health crisis unit through improved dispatch and the addition of paramedics in many instances.

“COVID-19 is leading us into uncharted territories and the need for our services has never been greater. However, in 2019 almost half of all the psychiatric calls our Mobile Crisis Team responded to involved police,” said Albany County Mental Health Director Stephen J. Giordano. “This mobile crisis enhancement pilot program will reduce the amount of times that police are the first responder.  This is a big step forward in terms of re-imagining police functions amid the national push to do so. This is a needed and appreciated partnership between my department, Sheriff Apple, the County Executive and the County Legislature.”

Despite initial startup costs, once the program is up and running, it is anticipated that streamlined county operations would not only improve outcomes, but it would also save the County money in the long run. The measure would ultimately reduce the duplication of services and save public safety costs, such as ambulance trips, a decrease in police responses, fewer repeat “offenders” and lower incarceration numbers.

In the County’s 2021 Budget, the Legislature has funded two additional social worker positions to work on the ACCORD program. The social workers will be added to the County’s mobile crisis unit to allow for its operations and growth.

In addition to the County partners joining together to create the new ACCORD program, County officials have discussed working with local non-profits and officials from the State University at Albany to build the program and provide the added insight on implementing improvements of services.

“For too long our society has not properly funded and treated mental illness to the level that is needed, instead relying on an overburdened mental health infrastructure and the criminal justice system. Instead those suffering from non-violent mental crises must be treated by mental health professionals not law enforcement. This will not only create better outcomes for those in crisis and connect them to services they may need, but it will save money in the long run,” said County Legislator Matthew Peter who lead the advocacy of this effort.

Moving forward, cities, towns and villages would be able to enter in to the ACCORD program by potentially helping to fund additional units that would respond to their dispatch and cooperate with their other first responders. Municipalities showing interest include the City of Albany, who will be sending observers to see how they can utilize the program as part of its police reform efforts.

“As Chairwoman of the Audit and Finance Committee, I am proud that the budget contains the ability to make programmatic improvements to the delivery of County services,” said Legislature Deputy Chairwoman Wanda Willingham. "We expect that this program eventually becomes beneficial in many communities throughout Albany County.”

“The ACCORD program is the type of outside-the-box thinking that I believe will positively change the way our community interacts with and views law enforcement," said Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan. “Thank you to our County leaders for their vision and commitment and I look forward to working with them as the initiative grows.”