Bucks County Co-Responder Now Aiding Police In Warrington, Warwick

DOYLESTOWN, PA — Bucks County’s newest Human Services Co-Responder is now working out of three police departments in Central Bucks County, helping to connect in-need residents with social services and divert them away from the criminal justice system.

Based out of the Warrington Township Police Department, Katrina Mattioni started working in June with officers in Warrington, Warwick, and Warminster townships.

The program pairs social service and mental health professionals, known as Co-Responders, with police officers in an effort to divert people with social and mental health needs away from the criminal justice system.

The Co-Responders are available to respond to situations involving mental health and social services and to follow up on referrals and cases, freeing up police for patrol, emergencies and public safety.

With the addition of Mattioni to the co-responders’ team, county social workers are now working alongside police in 18 departments covering Upper, Central and Lower Bucks. Mattioni was hired at a salary of $59,000.

“It is a testament to the amazing job done every day by the people in our Human Services Division that we have managed in just three years to bring the Co-Responder Program to all regions of Bucks County,” said Commissioner Vice Chair Diane Ellis-Marseglia. “We are incredibly thankful to our Co-Responders for the important work they do, and to our police officers and municipal leaders for welcoming these important efforts into their communities.”

The co-responders have served more than 1,100 people since the program started in late 2020. Most referrals are for mental health.

The Warrington Township Board of Supervisors voted in February to adopt Bucks County’s Co-Responder program on a two-year trial period and to partner up with neighbors Warwick and Warminster townships to institute the program.

The pilot program will run for two years and will be paid for by a grant from the county. After that, it will be up to the municipalities to decide whether they want to continue the program.

“My research and my understanding of this program is that it’s helping to prevent additional crises from happening over and over again,” said supervisor Eileen Albillar. “We need to ensure our police officers have all the resources they need to be able to focus on what they need to do rather than mental health issues ... This is a supplemental to give the officers the time and the ability to focus on emergencies.”

The program is designed to:

• Decrease the time law enforcement spends in response to a situation involving social service needs;
• Provide a more effective emergency response through the addition of clinical-informed support and an enhanced community resource knowledge base;
• Ensure those who outreach for an emergency response receive timely and streamlined connection to resources to address their social service needs; and
• Divert individuals with primary social service needs from further penetration into the criminal justice system.

“If they (the Co-Responders) are able, by their presence, to take significantly more work away from the police officers so they can continue to do what they are trained to do in crime and speeding, the township will be way ahead of the game,” said Supervisor Fred Gaines. “And maybe three years from now when the time comes there won’t be a need for an additional police officer because their workload will have been tempered by the presence of these two Co-Responders.”

The Co-Responder program was first piloted by the county in 2020 in Bensalem. It has since been expanded to Middletown, Falls and Bristol Townships and to Bristol Borough and Tullytown Borough.

Prior to the vote, Warrington Township Police Chief Daniel Friel recommended approval of the program in the township.

“I don’t see any harm with trying it to see how it works and then we reevaluate it from there,” said Chief Friel.

The chief put to rest any concern that the program is a backdoor attempt to replace police officers. "It's just not going to happen, even in a perfect world," he said. "I see this person mainly as a follow-up or coming out to a scene if it's during the day."