More Twin Cities area metro counties are embedding social workers into 911 call centers to field calls from those struggling with problems like mental health, homelessness and substance use.
One is Melanie Yang, who began working as an embedded social worker in the Minneapolis 911 call center this fall through a pilot program partnership between the city and Hennepin County.
911 call takers are often the first people that those in crisis interact with when they seek help, but call takers may not have the expertise or time to best assist them in that moment. Instead of sending traditional responders such as police officers out to assist a 911 caller, the social worker takes calls deemed to be non-emergent after they are screened by an initial call taker.
Minneapolis sought to add a social worker into its 911 call center after the release of the Safe and Thriving Communities Report, which proposed new public safety approaches following the 2020 murder of George Floyd.
Minneapolis has embedded social workers who are stationed in police precincts, but Yang is the first to be in the 911 call center. She previously worked as a paraprofessional at a school district, and said she’s passionate about working with underserved and diverse communities.
The calls Yang has taken so far have varied, but include pointing community members in crisis toward mental health resources or walking people through what to do after being evicted.
“Sometimes some of those calls might not necessarily be appropriate for police or EMS or fire, and so that’s where I think this program and this role really comes in,” she said.
Hennepin County is not the first to embed a social worker into a 911 call center. Ramsey County has multiple social workers in its call center, as part of a pilot program begun in 2023. The county is now looking to make the program permanent and to increase the number of social workers in the call center to make the program available 24/7.
Nancie Pass, the director of Ramsey County’s Emergency Communication Center, said a more traditional response to 911 calls can potentially escalate a situation, especially for calls related to mental health. Social workers take a more sensitive approach, she said, and can call a mobile crisis assistance team to a scene to help the caller if needed.
“I think they’ve done a tremendous job taking calls and giving them the human-centered approach that is really needed,” she said.
Washington County has also recently hired an embedded social worker who is set to begin taking calls in December.
Yang said she sees her role as “another layer of support for people.” She said many people don’t realize that there are resources available to help them.
“Navigating those systems can be kind of complex for people, and so having an extra layer of support to help them navigate that when they do experience things that set them back, it’s nice,” she said.
Yang said 911 is an easy number for community members to remember, and is often their first instinct on who to call when they are in crisis. Callers she’s talked to have been both excited and surprised when they learned that they could talk to a social worker instead of a traditional 911 call taker dispatching police officers.
Leticia Cardenas, assistant director of Minneapolis 911, said the pilot program adds to the diversity of the city and county’s resources.
“People in the city of Minneapolis have lots of options for how to get help, and we’re just adding one more resource to their pool of resources,” she said.
Cardenas said the city and county will decide whether to expand the pilot program beyond the initial timeframe through 2026, and if more hours should be added. Yang works from noon to 8:30 p.m. on weekdays. Her position is funded through the end of 2026.
“We will reevaluate and see what we’ve learned, what positives have come from it, and go from there on what’s the next step,” Cardenas said.
As Yang steps into her new role, she’s also working toward getting her master’s degree in social work. She said the pilot program is a learning experience for everyone.
“​​I do hope that we learn more about the program and just make things easier for everybody,” she said.
