The Adult Mental Health Division provided grants to the Adult Mental Health Initiatives in July 2008 to implement or enhance Crisis Intervention Teams (CIT) in their regions. Crisis intervention team training provides police officers with knowledge and skills to improve their responses to individuals with mental illnesses.

Developing CIT is critically important since officers are often first-line responders to emergency calls involving individuals with mental illnesses. CIT was first developed in 1988 by the Memphis Police Department in partnership with the Memphis chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the University of Memphis, and the University of Tennessee. CIT programs, through de-escalation training and education about mental illnesses, have been successful in reducing unnecessary arrests and use of force, while increasing referral rates to emergency health care. Studies also show that compared with non-CIT officers from the same police department, CIT officers are significantly more likely to feel well prepared in handling crises involving people with mental illnesses.

Grants have been awarded for one or more of the following core components of CIT to nine of the Adult Mental Health Initiatives in Minnesota:

1. Introduction to CIT through CIT Orientation meetings.

2. CIT Planning, Implementation & Networking facilitated meetings. Community collaborations and partnerships are essential to succesful implementation of CIT.

3. Dispatch training sessions to provide training for emergency dispatchers such as call takers, dispatchers, and 911 operators.

4. Law Enforcement Officer Trainings. The 40-hour comprehensive training emphasizes mental health-related topics, crisis resolution skills, de-escalation training, and access to community-based services.

The Adult Mental Health Initiatives participating in developing CIT components with grants through June 2009 are:

1. NW8 – Polk County Host (& Kittson, Roseau, Marshall, Pennington, Red Lake, Norman, Mahnomen).

2. Region 2 – Hubbard County Host (& Lake of the Woods, Beltrami, Clearwater).

3. BCOW and 4 South –Grant County. Host (& Becker, Clay, Otter Tail, Wilkin, Traverse, Douglas, Stevens, Pope).

4. Region 7 East – Isanti County Host (& Mille Lacs, Kanabec, Pine, Chisago).

5. CommUNITY- Benton County Host (& Stearns, Benton, Sherburne, Wright)

6. Ramsey County.

7. South Central Community Based – Blue Earth County (& Sibley, Nicollet, Brown, LeSueur, Rice, Watonwan, Faribault/Martin, Freeborn).

8. SW 18 – Cottonwood County Host (& Big Stone, Swift, Kandiyohi, Meeker, Lac qui Parle, Chippewa, Renville, McLeod, Yellow Medicine, Lincoln, Lyon, Murray, Redwood, Pipestone, Rock, Nobles, Jackson).

9. CREST – Olmsted County Host (& Goodhue, Wabasha, Winona, Houston, Waseca, Steele, Dodge, Mower, and Fillmore).

Article Courtesey of NAMI-MN