CRIT Module 1

Welcome & Introduction to CRIT

Purpose

This module sets the stage for the 40-hour Crisis Response and Intervention Training (CRIT). It introduces the lead instructors and the classroom participants to one another, sets expectations for the week, and presents the basic concept of police-mental health collaboration (PMHC) in crisis response. This module also discusses issues related to the high prevalence of people living with mental health (MH) conditions and those with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) in the criminal justice system.

Instructor

It is recommended that this module be taught or co-taught by a law enforcement leader, field training officer, and/or coordinator in crisis response. Co-trainers with lived experience with MH conditions and disabilities may also be included to help define and describe crisis situations, or situations that could become a crisis.

Time: 60 minutes

Learning Objectives

Upon completing this module, participants should be able to: ​

1. Define Crisis Response and Intervention Training;

2. Explain the need for crisis response training and programs;

3. Identify the role of law enforcement in crisis response; and

4. Describe police-mental health collaboration (PMHC) in crisis response and identify core elements of effective PMHC.

Materials

Trainer’s Guide

1. Welcome and Introduction to CRIT

.pdf

Download PDF • 1.47MB

PowerPoint Presentation

1. Welcome and Introduction to CRIT

.pptx

Download PPTX • 5.63MB

Handouts

CRIT Pre-Training Survey

.pdf

Download PDF • 294KB

CRIT Post-Training Survey

.pdf

Download PDF • 241KB

PMHC Toolkit - Essential Elements Handout

.pdf

Download PDF • 154KB

• NAMI Divert to What? Community Services that Enhance Diversion

Additional Resources

• BJA/CSG – Police-Mental Health Collaborations: A Framework for Implementing Effective Law Enforcement Responses for People Who Have Mental Health Needs

Integrating Behavioral Health Peer Support Specialists into Crisis Response

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Across the United States, law enforcement and behavioral health agencies have increasingly begun to incorporate peer support specialists in their responses to people experiencing behavioral health crises in their community. Peer support specialists are individuals with lived experience with mental health conditions, substance use disorders, and/or trauma who are trained, and often certified, to support others with similar experiences in their community. These professionals are being integrated into crisis response programs to enhance interactions with people experiencing behavioral health crises and provide follow-up to promote engagement with needed support and services.

Presented by the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s Academic Training Initiative to Inform Police Responses, this webinar provides an overview of the roles of behavioral health peer support specialists across the criminal justice system, discusses the newer role of peer support specialists in crisis response, and provides examples of how peer support specialists are trained and embedded in teams of professionals tasked with responding to crisis calls in the community. Additionally, this webinar considers how people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) might be integrated into similar peer support roles to enhance crisis responses to people with IDD.

Speakers:

1. Chanson Noether, Director, Policy Research Associates

2. Patricia McIntosh, Director of Community Safety and Wellness, City of Hartford (CT)

3. Stephanie Perez, Peer Recovery Specialist, Hartford Emergency Assistance Response Team (HEARTeam)

4. Leigh Ann Davis, Director of Criminal Justice Initiatives, The Arc of the United States and National Center on Criminal Justice and Disability

5. Jordan Smelley, Mental Health Peer Support Specialist, Association of Person's Affected by Addiction (Dallas, TX)

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Webinar Recording

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Webinar Slides

PeerSpecialistsSlides-508

.pdf

Download PDF • 2.31MB

Digital Day of Action: July 20, 2022

Save the Date: Digital Day of Action on July 20 to Promote 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline to Criminal Justice Stakeholders

As you know, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) will be implementing the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline on July 16, 2022. For criminal justice stakeholders, 988 is an important opportunity to shift people in crisis toward appropriate care and ideally minimize contact with law enforcement and the justice system. To fully take advantage of this, however, criminal justice partners need to be aware of what 988 provides and prepare processes to appropriately direct people to 988 prior to contact with law enforcement and through to reentry.

To promote the implementation of 988 to a criminal justice audience, The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center, working closely with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs’ Bureau of Justice Assistance and SAMHSA, is organizing a broad group of national organizations involved with criminal justice and behavioral health crisis response to raise awareness through social media.

Together, we will host a digital “Day of Action” on Wednesday, July 20, 2022, focused on informing criminal justice stakeholders about the opportunities this new dialing code presents. We hope that you are interested in engaging in this day of action as a partner. Partners will receive a promotional toolkit that includes suggested language and digital graphics your organization can use on your social media and newsletter channels during the day of action. If your organization is interested in becoming a partner, please complete this form by Wednesday, July 13, 2022. If you have any questions, contact Hallie Fader-Towe at hfader@csg.org.

Join the 988 Day of Action

Thank you for your consideration and we hope you will join us in this effort!

Ayesha Delany-Brumsey, PhD

Director of Behavioral Health, the CSG Justice Center