Speaker Name: Sgt. Scott McCann
Session Description:
Calgary Police Service and our Social Mental Health Addiction Resource Team (S.M.A.R.T) program at the Arrest Processing Section.
The Mission of the S.M.A.R.T program is to support vulnerable and at-risk individuals at the CPS Arrest Processing Section by connecting them to appropriate community resources, promoting stabilization, and reducing barriers to recovery.
The Arrest Processing Section processes over 10,000 detainees annually and it is estimated that at lease 75% of individuals booked into APS present with untreated substance use disorders and/or mental health challenges. Funding to support the S.M.A.R.T program was received through the Urban Strategy Grant and were instrumental in formalizing a multidisciplinary response to the complex needs identified within the detainee population.
A S.M.A.R.T client is someone who displays or indicates struggles with mental health, addictions or social barriers, demonstrates a desire to address these concerns regardless of previous treatment history and voluntarily participates in the program.
The Team is comprised of mental health clinicians, advance care paramedics, police officers and commissionaires and utilizes a standardize referral form to capture client needs, support data collection, and ensure all available resources are considered and offered. This ensures a tailored, individualized response that aligns with each client’s specific social, mental health, and addiction-related needs.
If a detainee is deemed a suitable candidate for SMART by the advanced paramedic, then a mental health clinician will conduct an in-person interview to determine how best to connect them with available community resources.
High level outputs include identifying the primary concerns expressed by clients, referrals to community agencies/programs, providing resources and prescription pick-ups to support the Virtual Opioid Dependency Program.
Learning Objectives:
The learning objectives include the mission and approach of the S.M.A.R.T program, team composition, clientele served, resources and supports provided.