MANSFIELD — The 23rd class of law enforcement officers and first responders will graduate from Crisis Intervention Team training on Friday.
The training is sponsored by the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Richland County and the Richland County Mental Health & Recovery Services Board.
CIT is a collaborative effort between area law enforcement agencies and mental health community to help law enforcement officers handle incidents involving people with mental illness.
The program focuses on the need for advanced training and specializations with first responders, immediacy of the crisis response for those with mental illness, emphasis on officer and consumer safety, and referral for those in crisis to ensure proper mental health treatment, instead of incarceration.
Developed in the late 1980s, CIT was built on work done by NAMI family advocates and a community task force of law enforcement, mental health and addiction professionals, and consumer advocates.
An intensive 40-hour training curriculum was developed, focusing on scenarios based on actual incidents. Other parts include individual diagnosis, medications, de-escalation, civil legal court processes, and perspectives from individuals with mental illness and their family members.
Richland County has trained almost 500 law enforcement officers and first responders since 2004.
Members of the latest class will participate Friday in real life mental health scenarios, presented by Mansfield Playhouse actors, starting at 9 a.m. Those scenarios will be followed by a graduation ceremony at 12:15 p.m. at the Playhouse, 95 E. Third St.
