Mental Health Coalition of the Greater La Crosse Area

Mental Health Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) Training for Law Enforcement

Law officers are on the frontline with people in crisis. Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training is a proven five-day, 40-hour program which introduces law officers to the range of mental illnesses, medications, experiences of people living with a mental illness and experiences of their families, local resources, and best practices which increase the safety of the officers as well as of the people they are assisting and of the community.

The primary target audience for CIT includes patrol officers in law enforcement agencies throughout La Crosse County and jailers at the La Crosse County Jail. The long-term goal is to train at least 25% of the officers in each law enforcement agency so that trained officers will be available on every shift to respond to mental health crises.

Communities which have incorporated CIT into their law enforcement agencies have seen:

• lower risk of injury to officers and others
• fewer repeat contacts with mental health consumers
• fewer 72-hour holds dropped due to not meeting required criteria for emergency detention
• enhanced working relationship with crisis workers
• reduced manpower and overtime use
• greater involvement of family and friends of the mental health consumer

Testimony from CIT Graduates

“All presenters knew their area of mental health and presented things in a way that made learning this material much easier.”

“The site visits opened my eyes as to what’s out there for us to use.”

“The role play scenarios were very real, very much like situations we run into a lot of the time.”

“This course has taught me that extra time might be needed with certain people. I will pass the good word on to my coworkers about this program.”

This Year's Sessions

June 2-6, 2008 and October 13-17, 2008
Northside Community Policing Station
La Crosse

Schedule

Period	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
8:00 a.m.	Welcome and Introduction to CIT   De-escalation Techniques   Co-occurring Disorders	Intro to Psychiatric Illnesses including: Schizophrenia, Depression, Bipolar Disorder, Schizoaffective Disorder   Psychiatric Medications	PTSD and Anxiety Disorders   Personality Disorders   Autism   Personal/Family Perspective	Excited Delirium and Medically Significant Behaviors   Report back about Site Visits   Personal/Family Perspective	Scenarios for practicing de-escalation knowledge and techniques
12 noon	Lunch	Lunch	Lunch	Lunch	Lunch
12:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.	Suicide Risk Assessment Dementia and Other Disorders Masquerading as Mental Health Issues Childhood and Adolescent MH Emergencies	Site Visits to learn about community resources and other perspectives	Site Visits to learn about community resources & other perspectives	Children in Crisis Self-Harm De-escalation: Philosophy, Purpose, Approa   Self-Care	Legal Issues and Process Crisis Response Program Cop Suicide Graduation

If you would like more information about CIT Trainings in La Crosse, contact us:  mhc@mentalhealthlacrosse.org.