NEWAYGO, Mich. — The city of Newaygo, a rural community, says they're one of the first communities of their size to add a contracted police social worker to their staff.
“Newaygo County is such a unique county because we are 928 square miles and we only have 50,000 residents,” police social worker Nicole Klomp said.
Police social workers are trained to respond in crisis situations alongside law enforcement, not in place of law enforcement.
Police Chief Georgia Andres says Newaygo has served as a blueprint for other rural communities when it comes to adding a police social worker to their staff.
Now, they've been awarded a federal grant to expand operations.
“It’s humbling to apply for something and get almost $600,000. The city of Newaygo’s police department budget is smaller than that. So we got a grant for more than I usually get to spend on a program; that is very helpful to our community,” Andres said.
Andres says Traverse City, Three Rivers, Benzie County and Alpena have all added police social workers recently.
Newaygo started their program three years ago. Nicole Klomp, the police social worker in Newaygo, initially volunteered for the position. Now she works as a contracted employee with the police department.
But her job is expanding. Now, she's serving nearby Fremont too.
“We’re also going to be adding on a second PSW, or police social worker,” Klomp said.
The agreement for the grant was signed in December of 2024. Nicole says she's hopeful nothing down the line will affect grant funding.
“I always joke and say I could be full time at both Newaygo and Fremont, despite us being a very small rural community; there’s so much need,” Klomp said.
Chief Andres says having Nicole on staff has been a blessing. She helps Newaygo PD with crisis calls, connects people with resources, and makes civil calls. Civil calls make up around 20% of Newaygo's call volume, the chief said.
“Say for instance a family member has an issue with a family member who doesn’t know ho to handle a mental illness situation; she will help guide them on how to get a mental order pickup, or how to get services for that person,” Andres said.
Nicole also serves on call for Grant and White Cloud, and helps officers debrief after tough calls.
“I would say it’s been extremely important for Newaygo to have this position, just because we don’t have a lot of resources in general,” Klomp said.
The need is there. In her three years working with the police department, Nicole has had more than 500 referrals.
The new grant, good until 2026, means Nicole is expecting to serve more community members from Newaygo and beyond.
FOX 17 was requested to add this statement to our coverage, as a condition of the grant:
"This project is supported by Michigan’s Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funding Program #FRF5311, awarded by the U.S. Department of Treasury, and administered by the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards (the Commission). Points of view or opinions contained within this document do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Treasury or the Commission."
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