House Bill 1329 is legislation to allow state money to flow to the McHenry County Sheriff’s police social worker program.
Social workers in the Sheriff’s Office accompany officers in cases when appropriate.
McHenry Couty Board Chairman Mike Buehler described the program in his 2025 State of the County address in
“The summer of 2024 marked the second year of operation of our groundbreaking McHenry County Police Social Work Program, which supports the Sheriff’s Office and 16 other participating county police departments with six full-time social workers to help bridge the gap between law enforcement and McHenry County’s network of social service providers.
“It was another successful year, and this program is really making a difference – 71% percent of active clients have had fewer police contacts a year after involvement with a police social worker.”
According to Chief Sponsor Sue Ness, “HB1329 passed out of the House, heading to the Senate! HB1329 aims to include McHenry County’s shared social worker program in a state pilot program initiated four years ago.
“The primary goal is to foster more appropriate mental health responses to non-emergency calls.
“The program has demonstrated excellent results to date, and its structure helps local communities save money.
“This unit will include social workers who will follow up with victims who they feel would benefit from behavioral or mental health-related services, leading to a trauma-informed approach when assisting victims.”
The vote was unanimous in the House, but failed to even make it to a substantive committee in the State Senate.
