Eastpointe graduates third crisis intervention class
By Staff Reports
Published in News on September 30, 2010 1:46 PM
Thirteen law enforcement officers within the Eastpointe catchment area participated in the 40-hour Crisis Intervention Team training in July. It was the third class sponsored by Eastpointe to graduate. The law enforcement agencies involved were Wayne County Sheriff's Department, Goldsboro City Police Department, and Cherry Hospital Police.
The Crisis Intervention Team program is a pre-booking jail diversion program designed to improve the outcomes of police interactions with people with mental illnesses, developmental disabilities, and substance abuse issues. It is a community partnership consisting of law enforcement officers, private providers, and consumers/ family members of mental health, developmental disabilities, and substance abuse services. All community partners work together to understand behavioral health disabilities, invest time and effort to avert a crisis, work to de-escalate a crisis, and direct the individual to appropriate care.
The CIT program is implemented through local law enforcement agencies. The specially trained officers provide CIT Intervention to individuals and their families in times of crisis - 24 hours a days, 7 days a week. Law enforcement officers are generally the first ones called to respond to individuals in crisis, so it is imperative that the officer understand issues that individuals may be experiencing as a result of his/her disability. The CIT program brings about a new culture to law enforcement.
Classroom instructional training involves various topics that include mental illnesses, developmental disabilities, and addictive diseases. Site visits to local group homes, state psychiatric hospitals, and neuro-medical treatment centers are also included within the curriculum. Performance-based training involves the development and implementation of de-escalation techniques and crisis intervention skills via role-play scenarios.