Chicago's Voice on Mental Illness

The mission of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)-Chicago is to provide hope and improve the quality of life for those in the greater Chicago area whose lives are affected by serious mental illness.

Since the fall of 2004, NAMI Chicago has been working with the Chicago Police Department to assist in the implementation of the 40-hour Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training for Chicago police officers making Chicago the largest urban area with CIT training in place for its officers. Numerous CIT-trained officers based in Chicago public schools asked for additional training specific to mental health issues for children and adolescents. An Advanced Juvenile 40-hour CIT Training for officers who previously completed the Basic CIT training was implemented in April of 2010, making Chicago the first in the nation to develop this level of advanced training for their officers. A major objective of the Advanced Juvenile CIT Training is to identify juveniles with mental health needs and divert them to treatment rather than incarceration.

alexa@namichicago.org

NAMI Chicago - 1536 West Chicago Ave., Chicago, IL 60642
www.namichicago.org / (312) 563-0445 / Fax (312) 563-0467