Criminal Justice/Social Work
Community Care ProgramThe Community Care program supports rural Western North Carolina communities by partnering social workers and graduate student social work interns with local police departments.
What is the Community Care Program?
In rural communities, the majority of calls to law enforcement are not criminal in nature, but instead are the result of social concerns like poverty, mental illness, substance use, intimate partner violence, and homelessness. While law enforcement is tasked with responding to these calls, the root causes of the issues at hand are often well outside of the scope of a law enforcement officer.
The Community Care program offers a solution to these challenges by partnering social workers and social work interns with local police departments. These partnerships are tailored to the specific needs of rural communities in Western North Carolina.
There are many alternative responder models that law enforcement agencies can choose to explore. What makes the Community Care Program unique is that our model has been developed through collaboration between the Western Carolina University Department of Social Work, the Western Carolina University Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, and the Sylva Police Department. For our affiliate agencies, we offer ongoing training, support, and consultation. If you are interested in exploring this model for your community, please contact us at communitycare@wcu.edu.
About Us
KATY ALLEN, MSW
Community Care Program Co-founder
Katy Allen is an Associate Instructor and the Director of Field Education for the Department of Social Work at Western Carolina University. As Director of Field Education, she manages partnerships with over 200 social work and human services agencies across Western North Carolina. Katy’s applied research interests include social work practice in non-traditional settings, including the criminal justice system. Her most recent publication focused on the development of the Community Care program and was published in The Field Educator, a national journal of social work education.
Katy’s social work practice experience includes direct practice with children and families living in poverty, as well as program management, evaluation, and organizational and
network development in rural Appalachia. She serves on several local advisory boards and task forces related to community development and restorative practices.
Cyndy Caravelis, PhD
Community Care Program Co-founder
Cyndy Caravelis is a Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice
at Western Carolina University. Her current research interests include interpersonal violence, social justice, and community policing. Her research on sentencing inequality has been published in journals such as Justice Quarterly and the Journal of Quantitative Criminology. She has received numerous grants to deepen and expand the work of the Community Care program.
In addition to her academic endeavors, she has extensive field experience in the criminal justice system, including work as a legislative analyst for the Florida Legislature’s Commission on Capital Cases, as a crime intelligence analyst for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, as an expert witness on criminal sentencing, and as an academic instructor in both male and female correctional institutions.
Community Care Program
Publications and Presentations
Community Care: A Field Education-Based Model for Police Social Work in Rural Communities
Allen, K., Odell, B., & Caravelis, C. (2023). Community Care: A field education-based model for police social work in rural communities. Field Scholar, 13(1), 1-11.
Upcoming Events
March 27 - Webinar
Part 2: Nuts & Bolts – Policies, Procedures, and Getting Started
In this webinar, we’ll be discussing various models for alternative responder and co-responder programs, with a special focus on models that work in rural communities. We’ll help you identify which type of program might work best for your community, stakeholders who need to be included in the conversations, and how to begin the planning process.
Community Care Program
In the News
Waynesville Police bring social work to the streets
March 17, 2025, The Mountaineer – Last year, the Waynesville Police Department partnered with Western Carolina’s Community Care Program to give officers some help with people in crisis. “It’s been a great resource for us,” said Waynesville Police Chief David Adams.
Boone PD welcomes Cierra Burgess as part of its Community Care Program
September 18, 2024, Watauga Democrat – Boone Police has welcomed Cierra Burgess as the department’s new embedded social worker as part of the department’s Community Care Program. This initiative sees police officers partnering with a trained social worker.
Community Care still caring
Jan 22, 2025, Sylva Herald – It has been three years since an experiment between Sylva Police Department and Western Carolina University to change the way police interact with people on certain calls began.
Community Care going forward
Jan 29, 2025, Sylva Herald – The Sylva Police Department’s Community Care program was the brainchild of WCU professors Cyndy Caravelis and Katy Allen. It has grown exponentially and is now having a national impact.
Community Care Program receives grant from Dogwood Health Trust to expand in western north carolina
July 26, 2023, WCU Blog – Thanks to a $140,000 grant from Dogwood Health Trust, WCU’s Community Care Program will expand to more counties in Western North Carolina.
SYLVA Police Department named law enforcement agency of the year
July 19, 2023, Sylva Herald – The N.C. Police Executive Association named the Sylva Police Department Law Enforcement Agency of the Year for its innovative Community Care program.
Downloadable Resources
Infographic: Sylva police Department’s Community Care Program
This infographic provides an overview of the Sylva Police Department’s Community Care Program and its outcomes from 2022-2023.
Community Care Manual
The Community Care Manual, developed by the Community Care Team and with support from Dogwood Health Trust, is available for Community Care affiliate agenices.
Contact Us
Have a question about the Community Care Program? Please get in touch! We look forward to hearing from you.
Support the Community Care Program
The Community Care Program was created to support communities without the resources needed to hire a full-time social worker. 100% of your donation goes directly to supporting the training and placement of BSW and MSW students working with the Community Care Program.
When you click on the link below, simply type in “Community Care” in the Designation box and select “Community Care Program” when it appears as an option. We appreciate your support!
To submit a paper check, please write “Community Care Program” in the memo line and mail it to:
Division of Advancement
Western Carolina University
H.F. Robinson 242-H
Cullowhee, NC 28723