Implementing a Crisis Response and Intervention Program

Sunday, October 15, 2023

8:00 AM – 9:15 AM PST

Location: Room: 3

Speaker(s)

Ruby Qazilbash

Deputy Director
U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA)
Washington, District of Columbia, United States
Leigh Ann McKingsley

Senior Director of Disability and Justice Initiatives
The Arc’s National Center on Criminal Justice and Disability® (NCCJD)
Washington, District of Columbia, United States
Craig Parker

Lieutenant
Tuscaloosa Police Department, Alabama
Tuscaloosa, Alamba, United States
Don Hedrick

Chief of Police
Rapid City Police Department, South Dakota
Rapid City, South Dakota, United States
Russell Lehmann

Motivational Speaker
Los Angeles, California, United States

An effectively implemented crisis response program requires careful and thoughtful development, delivery, and collaboration between law enforcement agencies and their community stakeholders. Training is essential to provide police with effective strategies to respond to crisis calls involving individuals with behavioral health (BH) conditions or intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Crisis Response and Intervention Training (CRIT) is a 40-hour training curriculum that prepares police officers in their response to people experiencing crises related to BH conditions and IDD. A key component of CRIT’s design is that it supports law enforcement agencies in their customized implementation of various crisis response models, in collaboration with BH and disability service providers. This panel includes law enforcement leaders from two agencies that implemented CRIT within their communities, a national disability expert, and a person with lived IDD experience. Panelists will discuss the importance of implementation planning and training to build an effective and sustainable crisis response program and their experiences with implementing CRIT.