YC Human Services

September 6, 2022 - Clair Doll oversees six human-services agencies in York County: the Area Agency on Aging; the office of Children, Youth and Families; Health Choices; York/Adams Mental Health/Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (MH-IDD); the York/Adams Drug and Alcohol Commission; and the Youth Development Center. With an annual budget of over $300 million they one of the County’s largest department in the York County.  Clair reviewed some on the department’s challenges and successes at our weekly meeting.  The staffing and training in the Office of Children, Youth and Families continues to be a major challenge in that funding is limited, the difficulty of the job, recruiting and retaining employees. He described a new training program and is optimistic that it will make improvements to the program. The Co-responder program has been a great success and helps police departments in their responses. It will also free up officers to handle other emergencies. The Co-responder is not a police officer but a mental health worker.  They don’t wear a uniform, and don’t carry a firearm. Clair said police make sure the scene is safe before the Co-responder is called in. By the time they arrive, an officer has explained who they are to the person in need of services. This helps to de-escalate the situation for people who need help and aren’t an immediate threat to others. Many of the calls involve teens dealing with mental health issues, he said. Without them, police might arrest that teen or take them to the emergency room, depending on the situation. The Co-responder is also able to follow up with people for days or weeks afterward, something police typically aren’t able to do. York County District Attorney Dave Sunday said the program will help keep people who haven’t committed serious crimes out of jail.