Purpose
The ODNR Officer Support Program is a service for ODNR officers and their families. The program provides confidential assistance with personal problems, including relationships, substance abuse, occupational issues and work related situations. The program also offers assistance to an officer after a stressful or traumatic situation.
Background
The use of professional psychological services to support personnel is widely accepted by law enforcement agencies nationwide. Not withstanding the obvious success and the substantial benefit provided by psychological services, many law enforcement employees who experience problems are not likely to seek professional help. In many cases, resistance to seeking professional help stems from the employee’s stereotyped beliefs that people who seek help are seriously ill, out of control, or unfit for work.
However, since law enforcement agencies tend toward a high cohesive “in group” feeling among its employees, it is common for persons experiencing personal problems to feel more comfortable and trusting in discussing matters with a fellow employee.
By having a select group of well-trained support officers, there is the potential of effectively providing support to employees under stress. With careful planning and implementation, the Department can provide a viable support network at an extremely low cost monetarily, while receiving a high return in employee welfare and morale.
Guiding Principles
- ODNR officers are human beings that do their best to cope with a career that is highly stressful. Like any other person, they may run into personal or professional problems. Since they sacrifice so much of themselves for the good of the public, they deserve and are entitled to the highest quality of assistance.
- We believe seeking help from someone, whether it be peer support, or in-house assistance is not a sign of weakness but a way to maintain strength.
- Personnel who seek assistance are placing their trust in fellow officer support. To honor this trust, all communication between the person seeking help and the support officer is confidential.
Program Objectives
- To provide a readily accessible support network of ODNR officers willing to be of service to other officers who express a need for assistance.
- To promote trust and appropriate anonymity and confidentiality for employees participating in peer assistance.
- To develop employee ability to anticipate personal conflicts and general awareness of available alternatives for self-help.
Program Structure
Program Coordinator
The coordinator is an ODNR officer selected by the ODNR Law Enforcement Administrator. The coordinator’s duties are administrative in nature. The Program Coordinator maintains the Support Officer roster, coordinates training sessions, new members training, recruiting of new members, and initiates assistance/contacts for officers identified as needing assistance.
Division Lead Support Officer
The Lead Support Officer will act as a liaison with the Program Coordinator and be responsible for the support officers from their respective division.
Support Officer Members
Support Officer Team Members are ODNR officers from all divisions whose primary interest is in helping their fellow employees cope with personal or work related issues. Support Officers are not psychological counselors. They are trained to be sympathetic, active listeners and to share the thoughts and feelings they have acquired through their own personal experience and training.
Support Officer Selection Criteria
In the face of adversity ODNR Support Officer’s are a unified group that respects and assists all of its personnel. While it is understood that ethnic, racial, and gender background, as well as, sexual orientation, are important criteria to consider when understanding the individual, all of our Support Officers share the common challenge of a law enforcement career and are equally entitled to support from fellow officers and civilian personnel.
- Minimum 5 years of law enforcement with ODNR
- Member will be selected from both bargaining unit and exempt officers
- Current or past discipline to the degree that serving as a Support Officer would be deemed inappropriate.
- Demonstrates ability to work effectively within a team
- Ability to meet training requirements
- Ability to maintain confidentiality
- Demonstrates ability to project confidence and to comfort others
- Good time management skills to handle job duties along with being a Support Officer
- Previously involved in a use of force incident(s) and acted properly according to training and all legal standards (not required to be a member of the team but beneficial)
- Must understand they would be available for call-out at any time
- Must have the recommendation of their immediate supervisor and Division Law Enforcement Administrator in order to be a Support Officer.
Commissioned personnel meeting the selection criteria may request in writing to the Division Law Enforcement Administrator for selection as a Support Officer.
Training of Support Officers
ODNR officers selected for the program must successfully complete the 2-day FOP Critical Incident Response Service training. After completion of this training, ODNR will further provide internal investigations training to members of the support team so they are familiar with the process.
Confidentiality
ODNR Support Officer will adhere to the confidentiality guidelines of this program.
All information shall be considered privileged and will not be available to the Department for disciplinary or other proceedings.
No member of the support team is to discuss any fact or aspect of an individual’s participation unless specifically authorized in writing by the participant.
There will be no record of names, problems, session content, including notes about an employee seeking assistance from the program.
Support Officers will be required to keep a log which will note the number of contacts, length of interviews and general nature of problems specified in a manner that does not identify the participant. This information will be submitted to the program coordinator for statistical purposes and is used to gauge the activity of the program and its effectiveness. Support Officers who are contacted by another officer who is a threat to himself/herself or another will immediately notify the officer’s supervisor.
Support Officers may be assisting an individual who is currently or becomes the subject of a disciplinary investigation. A Support Officer should be guided by the confidentiality policy of the program. However, the member may not hamper or impede the actual internal investigation, nor may attempt to shelter the individual from the disciplinary process. The Support Officer’s role in disciplinary situations should be one of support in helping an individual through the personal problems they may face during and after the disciplinary process.
Referral Process
The intent of the program is to provide a 24-hour availability of support officers. The coordinator and team leaders will maintain a list of all current support officers and their contact numbers. Supervisory personnel may remind employees of the program, but may not require participation.
If the issues raised by an employee go beyond the training of a Support Officer, a referral will be made to a mental health professional and/or outside professional agency.
No Department employee is required to participate in the program. Employees may contact a trained member at any time. An employee may also contact the Program Coordinator to obtain information at any time.
Call Out Procedure
- An officer or someone on behalf of the officer requesting assistance should contact the Program Coordinator.
- The Program Coordinator will then contact the Division Lead Support Officer for that division.
- If unable to contact the Program Coordinator, contact the Division Lead Support Officer.
- If unable to contact the respective Division Lead Support Officer, contact the Division Lead Support Officer from another division.
- The Division Lead Support Officer will contact the officer requesting assistance to determine the number of Support Officers needed and which Support Officer to send based on the officer involved request. Bargaining unit Support Officers should normally assist bargaining unit employees and exempt Support Officer should assist exempt employees.
- Division Lead Support Officer will then contact the Support Officer needed to respond to the situation.
- Support Officers who are called-out will notify their supervisor and be relieved of regular assigned duties, change into civilian clothing if time permits, and respond where called.
- Support Officers called-out while off duty will be considered on an on-duty status. The Support Officer will notify their supervisor, advising him/her of the call-out and the potential for overtime or not arriving for assigned duties when expected, and then respond to the call-out in civilian clothing.
- If the supervisor determines that the loss of an employee due to a call-out presents a clear detriment to public safety, the supervisor may keep called out Support Officers from responding. The Support Officer will then contact the Division Lead Support Officer to assign another officer.
- Any supervisor who does not allow an employee to respond to a call-out will submit a memo to their Law Enforcement Administrator and Program Administrator explaining the reasoning for not allowing the employee to respond.
- Use of Department resources, including Department facilities and vehicles is authorized if necessary. Peer assistance interviewing, etc. may be done whenever the person seeking assistance and the peer member feel they can have adequate privacy.
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