Specialized Policing Responses: Law Enforcement/Mental Health Learning Sites The Council of State Governments Justice Center, with support from the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), will select four law enforcement agencies from across the nation to participate in a project that will foster peer-to-peer learning and promote the sharing of expertise among law enforcement agencies working to improve responses to people with mental illnesses in their jurisdictions. This effort will focus on identifying agencies with a range of effective specialized policing responses to serve as resources for other law enforcement agencies nationwide. Law enforcement officers throughout the country regularly respond to calls for service that involve people with mental illnesses—often without needed supports, resources, or specialized training. These encounters can have significant consequences for the officers, people with mental illnesses and their loved ones, the community, and the criminal justice system. Although these encounters may constitute a relatively small number of an agency’s total calls for service, they are among the most complex and time-consuming calls officers must address. In response, jurisdictions across the country are exploring strategies to improve the outcomes of these encounters and to provide a response that prioritizes treatment over incarceration when appropriate. These efforts took root in the late 1980s, when the crisis intervention team (CIT) and law enforcement– mental health co-response models first emerged. Since that time, hundreds of communities have implemented these programs. As a growing number of communities engage in the development of specialized policing responses, many grapple with the program design process, and are unsure how to tailor models from other jurisdictions to their own distinct problems and circumstances. The learning site project is meant to help guide these efforts.
What is A Learning Site? Selected learning sites will illustrate the range of promising strategies a law enforcement agency might consider when trying to improve officers’ encounters involving people with mental illnesses. Learning sites are not to be considered ideal models, but each should demonstrate a commitment to the ten essential elements of a specialized policing response (SPR) program while maintaining flexibility in designing their programs to meet their communities’ needs.* These programs should represent a strong collaborative effort between law enforcement and mental health agencies, while considering the input of other relevant stakeholders. As centers of peer-to-peer learning and support, learning site personnel must be committed to expending the time needed to provide guidance to agencies in other jurisdictions through hosting site visits and responding to inquiries. Funding will be provided to offset the costs associated with these tasks, including, but not limited to, meals for meetings, transportation, and printing materials. *
Copies of Improving Responses to People with Mental Illnesses: The Essential Elements of a Specialized Law EnforcementBased Program are available for free download at www.consensusproject.org/jc_publications/law-enforcement-elements.
Learning Site Responsibilities Selected sites will be nationally recognized as leaders in the field and will provide a valuable resource for jurisdictions interested in developing and refining specialized policing responses (SPR). As part of their participation, sites will be expected to • Share information and provide peer-to-peer support remotely—Learning sites will respond to inquiries from the field, either via telephone or e-mail, and will share copies of relevant materials, such as policy manuals or training curricula, as appropriate, and with proper attribution. • Host site visits for interested jurisdictions—Learning sites will host representatives from interested law enforcement agencies from around the country. Justice Center staff will provide logistical support as necessary to coordinate visits, and will reimburse any allowable expenses. • Update Justice Center staff about activities—Learning sites will be responsible for updating designated Justice Center staff about any distance peer-to-peer support (via e-mail or telephone) or site visits. Sites will be responsible for recording relevant information about each inquiring jurisdiction, as well as the nature of the inquiry. • Participate at national events—Learning sites may be invited to deliver presentations at relevant national conferences and events to highlight the learning site program and innovative practices they have implemented. Site representatives will be reimbursed for any associated expenses.
How to Apply to Become A Learning Site All law enforcement agencies, regardless of size or number of personnel, are eligible and encouraged to apply. Smaller departments may choose to collaborate and submit a single application for a regional program, and should indicate which agency will serve as the lead on the application. Sites will be selected that represent diversity in • Jurisdiction characteristics, including the size of the jurisdiction and the geographic location; • Program model, such as a law enforcement-based primary response initiative (e.g., CIT), a police/mental health collaborative secondary response initiative (e.g., co-responder team), a collaborative case management initiative, or some combination of these initiatives; • Populations served, including, but not limited to, agencies that have identified a priority population through their planning process, such as a university population, juveniles, people experiencing homelessness, or individuals with co-occurring disorders; and • Program strengths, including jurisdictions that excel in one or more of the elements described in The Essential Elements of a Specialized Law Enforcement-Based Program. Additional consideration will be given to those sites that demonstrate program longevity, training and protocols for dispatchers, information-sharing policies that demonstrate respect for privacy and confidentiality, and any strong peer-support features.
The application can be downloaded at www.consensusproject.org/jc_publications/LE_MH_learning_sites. To be considered, applications must be received or postmarked by July 14, 2010. Completed applications, as well as questions or comments, should be submitted to the care of Elizabeth Dodd. E-mail: edodd@csg.org Phone: 646-383-5749 Fax: 212-482-2344
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Council of State Governments Justice Center 100 Wall Street, 20th Floor New York, NY 10005