Centre County’s Crisis Intervention Team program marked the conclusion of its 15th year on Friday with a graduation ceremony for its latest class of trainees.
The ceremony at the Ferguson Township Municipal Building celebrated the program’s 29th graduating class over the last decade and a half. During that time, it has trained 530 first responders from local and regional law enforcement, EMS and other public-serving agencies.
The most recent session included trainees from the State College, Ferguson Township, Spring Township and Penn State police departments, the Centre County Correctional Facility, Centre County Emergency Communications, Centre LifeLink EMS, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Union County Probation and Snyder County Children and Youth.
Since its inception in 2011, the Centre County CIT’s mission has been to divert people experiencing behavioral, emotional, or mental health crises from unnecessarily navigating the criminal justice system when possible. In instances where diversion is not feasible, the goal is to lessen the impact of the criminal justice system on people who are experiencing crises.
The specialized training sessions are held twice a year. Throughout the 40-hour program, trainees learn law-enforcement-based skills that enhance crisis intervention and de-escalation, especially in situations involving people experiencing a mental health crisis.
Training topics include recognizing and understanding specific signs and symptoms of mental illness, understanding how mental health affects various segments of the population, understanding the effects and side effects of psychotropic medications, and basic and advanced verbal de-escalation techniques.
To learn more about the Crisis Intervention Team and it related efforts, such as the Blue Envelope Project, visit centrecountypa.gov/725/Centre-County-Crisis Intervention-Team-C.
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