Social Worker Brionna Taylor-Garrett began her career at the Hodgenville Police Department (HPD) as an intern and worked tirelessly to obtain funding for her position with the department as a police social worker. In her role, Ms. Taylor-Garrett responds to certain calls for service that would usually tie up a patrol officer or HPD’s single school resource officer, bringing resources from around the community and region to help fix the issue. Her goal is to expand her services to make HPD the first agency in Kentucky to have an in-house police social worker who offers immediate counseling services. Ms. Taylor-Garrett used funding from a grant received from a local wellness coalition to connect HPD and all community partners with needed resources by developing an application called Larue County Hotline and Tips (LCHAT) that connects community members to the resources they may need. 

As a young child, Ms. Taylor-Garrett was exposed to police officers in unfortunate circumstances due to generational arrests within her family. However, the kindness of some officers inspired her to find a way to have a positive impact on others. Working as a social worker embedded in a police department allows her to serve and assist her community in an innovative way.  

Ms. Taylor-Garrett has only held her formal position for one year, but she has already garnered accolades and obtained fellowships and grants to continue funding her position and drive change at the agency and in her community.  

“My motivation for this line of work stems from aspiring to be the leader, mentor, and person I needed as a child.”