Sunday, November 24, 2024
11/24/2024
Aspire's CIT Expansion Project will provide mental health awareness training to Orange County, FL law enforcement officers to prepare them to respond to individuals who are in crisis. The project will provide monthly Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) trainings, as well as assistance with the implementation and delivery of an introductory overview to mental health response to all individuals attending the local police academy at the Valencia College of Public Safety. All law enforcement agencies in Orange County will be served. Trainings will include information on recognizing the signs and symptoms of mental illness, including substance use and co-occurring disorders, commonly prescribed psychiatric medications, trauma, adverse childhood experiences, veterans and PTSD, autism, Alzheimer's and older adult mental health, input and personal stories from consumers, officer mental wellness, and de-escalation education and role-play practice. Project goals include: 1) Expand the capacity of local law enforcement to respond to mental health crisis calls in a manner that reduces trauma and promotes officer and community safety; 2) Build officer understanding of common symptoms of mental health and substance use disorders and the best ways to communicate with those individuals; 3) Divert individuals experiencing mental health crises from unnecessary entry into the criminal justice system. Project objective include: 1) provide 40 hour CIT training to 360 officers from local law enforcement agencies per year for five years; 2) Provide mental health awareness training to 100% of new recruits that complete the local police academy for a total of 200 recruits trained per year; 3) 80% of officers who complete the full 40-hour CIT training will show improved understanding of individuals with MH and SUDs as evidenced by achieving an 80% or higher score on the post-test; 4) 75% of yearly stakeholder surveys will report an increase in referrals to services from law enforcement officers who have completed CIT trainings. Aspire's CIT expansion anticipates serving approximately 560 officers per year, for at total of 2,700 individuals served during the five year life of the grant.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
