McHenry police hire first social services coordinator

The McHenry Police Department hired its first-ever social services coordinator, a position that has been in the works for two years and is part of an effort to provide McHenry “the very best resources when it comes to mental health and social services,” the police chief said.

The hire follows an announcement in November by the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office that it plans to hire six full-time social workers this year who will work within its jurisdiction and with partner police agencies. The office opened applications for the positions in January.

The McHenry Police Department opted to hire its own full-time employee in Jason Sterwerf, who will provide a similar sort of services.

“When weighing the benefits of an in-house program versus a shared program, we felt strongly that in-house was our way to go,” Police Chief John Birk said. “Every community and its residents can have different needs and priorities from other communities. Having an in-house program provides us the ability to constantly review and revise the program based on our community needs.”

Sterwerf will be tasked with providing McHenry residents with social service referrals and crisis intervention, as well as following up with victims of crime, according to a news release. Down the road, he also will be a handler of a comfort dog.

“For years, the McHenry Police Department has recognized that not all problems in our community can be resolved simply by using what were considered ‘traditional’ law enforcement practices,” the department said in a news release.

Birk also highlighted the internal component of McHenry’s program, which includes having an in-house professional who can provide employee assistance services, critical incident stress debriefing, mental health training and counseling services.

The position is a “really exciting opportunity,” Sterwerf said, adding that law enforcement has been challenged to change with the times, and the fact that the McHenry department is on the “cutting edge” on that front is exciting.

The McHenry Police Department will continue to work with the sheriff’s office, but a full-time employee dedicated to McHenry means he can get to know the city of McHenry and its needs in particular and focus on those, Sterwerf said in an interview Thursday.

The position carries an annual salary of $84,500 plus benefits, Deputy Chief Thomas Walsh said. The department has not solicited donations or applied for grant funding for the position, so the cost is being covered by the city.

Sterwerf is a licensed clinical professional counselor, which means he can provide resources and support similar to a social worker but that his educational pathway looked different, said Sterwerf, who received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Roosevelt University and then a master’s in community counseling from National Louis University.

Sterwerf got his start in the field in 2009 working for CASA of McHenry County, which provides volunteer court-appointed special advocates for children in the foster system, Sterwerf said. From there, he served as director of the Office of Special Projects at the McHenry County courthouse.

In that role, he oversaw the court’s adult drug, driving under the influence, mental health and domestic violence court programs, which are nonadversarial diversion programs that seek to address the root issues that land people in the court system.

That job was about half administrative and half working with clients, Sterwerf said.