FAMILY LIAISON OFFICER

One of the many things that needs to done after the initial notification to the surviving family of a line-of-duty death is to assign a family liaison officer to assist the family. This is a critical position. The liaison officer is the conduit between the family and the agency. Their job is to relay information from the family to the agency and from the agency to the family. They are a resource for the family to use to help them meet with the people they need to meet with, get information they need, and help keep things organized and operating efficiently.

 The liaison officer is not an advocate for the family to the agency. I have seen this happen many times where the liaison officer becomes the family’s advocate and joins in the decision making process. This is not their job.They are the liaison between the family and the agency. At family planning meetings they should be sitting in the corner listening, not at the table involved in the decision making process. At agency meetings they are an integral member of the planning team but as an advisor of the family’s wishes and needs.

 The liaison officer should be prepared to spend a lot of time with the family. They don’t need to be with the family all the time but initially they will likely be with the family several hours a day. The liaison officer should have excellent people skills. They should be invited by the family to attend all meetings with the mortuary, church, memorial park and others.They are not the funeral coordinator. They cannot make independent decisions about what will or will not be done.

Many times the chief will assign an officer to be the liaison officer without speaking with the family. The family should be given some choices and decide who they want to be their liaison officer. The officer selected by the chief may be a good friend of the deceased officer but despised by the spouse. The liaison officer should not be pushed onto the family, but welcomed and accepted.

There is often a need for a secondary liaison officer. A liaison officer should be provided for the deceased officer’s parents. They have a vested interest in the planning process and have their personal wishes and needs they would like to see fulfilled. However, they are not part of the typical planning process unless they are invited by the surviving spouse.

If the parent’s and spouse have a good relationship and they are participants in the planning process then the need for a separate parent’s liaison officer is minimal, but still necessary. However, if the parents and spouse do not have a good relationship then there is a definite need for a separate liaison officer.

The parent’s officer will likely not have to spend a significant amount of time with the parents but will need to be able to convey to the spouse the wishes and needs of the parents. The officer will also have to convey the parent’s needs to the funeral coordinator. Hopefully by having an open line of communication between the parent’s and the spouse and the funeral coordinator everyone’s needs can be met and incorporated into the services.

Parent’s are often overlooked and excluded from the planning process. Many times their needs are very simple and can be easily met if they are known.Funeral coordinators should not make assumptions and think that providing parent’s with reserved seating in the second row of the church meets their needs. Someone needs to develop a relationship with the parent’s, learn what they want, and communicate those desires to the appropriate entities within the planning team. Having a liaison officer assigned to them increases the potential for this to happen.

 I read an agency protocol where an agency staff officer will be assigned as the family’s liaison officer. Basically after an initial meeting the family will be instructed to contact the officer if they need anything. In my experience, this won’t meet the needs of the family. A staff officer won’t have the time to spend with the family that they should. Calling everyday won’t suffice. The liaison officer is the conduit between the agency and the family. They not only need to convey information but the feelings, opinions,options, and importance of requests and needs. A liaison officer cannot acquire this insight by periodic phone call or visits.

John Cooley

PoliceFunerals.Com