Classification: Social Services: Salvation Army

(Sponsor Tom Cilek)

 

Classification: Foundation: University Foundation

(Sponsor Lynette Marshall)

 

President Thais introduced Steve Dolezal and Jessica Peckover for today’s program on Crisis Intervention Team Training.

 

Johnson County officials have been hard at work trying to find alternatives to the Johnson County Jail while giving their officers the tools to deal with people who are suffering from mental health and substance abuse issues. Instead of putting these individuals in jail they are looking at alternative solutions for these people who need special treatment but do not belong in our criminal justice system.

 

Options are limited with mental illness calls but jail or the emergency room are not the best place to provide service to affected individuals. Johnson County has worked to keep those with mental illness out of jail for nine years. It has a program that identifies mental illness in those who have been arrested and directs them to the proper care. Most officers receive no training for dealing with a person with a mental illness, and there has not been a lot of collaboration with other service providers. Johnson County took tips from a successful CIT program in San Antonio, Texas. By sending deputies and other city officials to CIT, the department wanted to find a way to address the core issues. The 40 hour course helps officers learn to deal with these situations in a non-violent way while saving time and taxpayer money. CIT trained officers are dispatched in plain clothes to calmly talk to the individual, to de-escalate the situation, and to refer them to the appropriate services in the community. Plans are being made for a local campus style option to help address issues related to mental health and substance abuse. Services could include: residential detoxification, a sober unit, a low barrier shelter, outpatient substance abuse treatment program, counseling services and an in-house recovery program.

 

National CIT statistics show the number of officer injuries and hands on incidents have gone down after law enforcement members have gone through this training. March 20, 2017 will mark the first CIT Training Program to be held in Johnson County. The goal is ultimately to serve citizens better—addressing the root problems, collaborating with other agencies and lowering the cost of each response—and to keep the officers and the community safe.