Value was found in MPACT as stated in the Iowa Department of Management Division of Data, Planning and Improvement evaluation report, which was finished last week.

Written by data analysts Wendy Ringgenberg and Cheryl Yates and Research Coordinator Melinda Mattingly, they collected data about MPACT (Marshalltown Police and Community Team) and interviewed people who have been impacted – either directly or indirectly. They also gathered information on the Alternative Response for Community Health (ARCH) in Ames, another co-responder program.

The report states the value of MPACT and ARCH stems from the reduced burden on police, fire and EMS systems, while simultaneously providing appropriate response and problem-solving for non-criminal, non-violent situations identified from 911 calls.

“Co-responder programs expand the services available for communities thereby creating an avenue to connect clients with existing services,” the report stated.

In April, Ringgenberg provided a summary of the report to roughly 20 people who gathered in the Marshalltown Police Department to hear what was found.

YSS of Marshall County Director David Hicks introduced Ringgenberg before her presentation.

“Dr. Ringgenberg has been evaluating our model, along with the model in Ames called ARCH to provide some insight and recommendations on how to implement a co-responder program into established partnerships like MPACT across Iowa,” he said. “Hopefully this will help generate some additional partnerships between the law enforcement community, social services and mental health.”

Ringgenberg said they had done a lot of work with the Justice Advisory Board which directed their efforts toward analyzing aspects of the criminal justice system in Iowa which are making a difference.

So, in 2022, Ringgenberg and her colleagues sent out a survey to law enforcement agencies in Iowa and 174 responded. When 71 percent answered they take mental health situations to the hospital, Ringgenberg said they knew a deeper look into mental health was needed, especially since mental health 911 calls do not equal criminal calls. That is when they decided to look at MPACT and ARCH. She praised how much data MPACT has collected.

“One thing MPACT has done very, very well is collecting data from the onset,” Ringgenberg said. “That data collection started right away and there was also a feedback loop which was established . . . That is something pretty unique.”

One data collection activity of MPACT’s she was impressed with was the annual survey of the Marshalltown Police Department.

“That’s pretty innovative,” Ringgenberg said.

She stressed the identities of people interviewed and surveyed for the evaluation report were kept anonymous. They also did not include any juveniles, as it would mean more hoops to jump through, according to Ringgenberg.

She presented yearly data, which was collected by MPACT on services provided since its inception in 2021, but she wanted to focus on 2024. The primary issues MPACT advocates responded to in 2024 were homelessness, domestic violence, mental health, substance use, family conflict and welfare checks.

“Just because it’s the primary issue doesn’t mean it’s the only issue,” Ringgenberg said. “The primary issue was homelessness, about one-third of the people they worked with.”

Of the 601 clients helped by MPACT in 2024, she said 93 percent accepted the recommendations advocates gave them.

“That means those are clients who are wanting to be safe, be healthy and make a few changes,” Ringgenberg said.

She said some additional data tracking MPACT might consider is recording the number of declined and closed cases, number and type of training sessions for staff and changes in the community which are inspired by the Marshalltown program.

Referencing stakeholder surveys, Ringgenberg said 83 percent of the people said MPACT has reduced the number of repeat visits to the emergency room for behavioral concerns. However, 100 percent said MPACT increased the community’s access to social service programs while decreasing the time law enforcement spends on non-criminal calls. Seventy-three percent stated MPACT is an important program for Marshalltown.

One of the things Ringgenberg said they wanted to analyze was whether or not the number of clients engaging in criminal behavior has reduced. To do that, they looked at the number of offenses before MPACT and how many there were afterward.

“We looked at a 10 year history – [including] six years before MPACT,” Ringgenberg said. “The number of clients who only had any kind of offense before MPACT was 88 with 383 offenses. . . . Then the history of people since involved with MPACT. . . . That was 23 people with 78 offenses.”

The report identified challenges MPACT is facing, starting with ensuring staff are on hand during times of the highest need and obtaining more advocates. Other challenges include securing sustained funding and creating a feedback loop to share implemented changes resulting from negative and positive feedback. The report also stated some of the successes of the Marshalltown program include stable staffing, reduced officer time on non-criminal calls and MPACT interventions have de-escalated people in crises.

In summary, Ringgenberg said MPACT reduces the amount of time law enforcement spends on non-criminal calls, improves client lives, creates good relationships with police officers, de-escales situations which leads to arrests, reduces the number of trips to the emergency room and is valued by residents of Marshalltown.

“MPACT has created and is providing an additional service,” she said. “[There were] 2,083 contacts for follow-up and that’s because it was not necessarily being done. It’s not that it didn’t want to be done, but because the connections, types of people needed to interact with them, the expectations of counseling and how to get people there – there’s a lot of complicity for some people who are struggling. It’s a new service.”

Contact Lana Bradstream at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.