Running head: CRISIS INTERVENTION TRAINING

Crisis Intervention Training

Grant Proposal
Tyler Andrzejewski + Micah Jackson
Ball State University
Abstract
The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) proposing its program CIT, which was
formed with the assistance of the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) after conducting a
needs assessment on interactions between law enforcement and individuals with mental illnesses.
CIT looks to educate law enforcers on signs and symptoms of mental illness so that they
can interact with individuals with mental illness in a safe and professional way. This will ensure
the safety of both the law enforcer and the individual, especially in an arrest situation.
A committee will be formed to organize curriculum for the CIT program, and an
instructor will be hired to carry out the curriculum. The curriculum will directly combat the
problem that is addressed in the needs assessment, and the evaluation process will determine if
the curriculum was successful in doing so.

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Crisis Intervention Training
Grant Proposal
Introduction
The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) has respectfully organized the following
grant proposal for Indianas Department of Mental Health and Addiction.
NAMI is the nations largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building
better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness. NAMI is currently
supported by monthly donations and generous volunteers around the United States; however,
NAMI is maintained by its dedicated Executive Leadership Board. All of the board members
contributed to the Crisis Intervention Training plans (CIT).
NAMI has partnered with the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) and has
proudly included its training staff in the CIT programs planning as well.
NAMI and ILEA came to a formal agreement that the CIT program should involve an
extra week of required classes, within the police academies of Indiana, which will teach the law
enforcers both how to identify persons with mental illnesses and how to properly make an arrest
on persons with mental illnesses.
The extra week of training for the law enforcers, NAMI and ILEA have agreed, will be
beneficial to the safety of both the police officers and civilians suffering from mental illnesses.
The will also improve the rate of individuals with mental illnesses that receive treatment for their
conditions.
Needs Assessment
For the general public, right or wrong, mentally disordered offenders are seen as
particularly dangerous individuals. (Bonta, 1998). Often times, individuals with mental illness,

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that arent getting the health care that they need, get into situations that can be defined as
disturbing the peace. Sometimes these offenses are harmless, sometimes they are dangerous
for all involved, but the problem escalates when law enforcers, who have not been trained to
properly handle encounters with individuals suffering from mental illness, try to make routine
arrests on the individuals. The confusion and frustration from both the law enforcers and persons
with mental illness makes for a dangerous situation that could have been avoided with proper
preparation and training.
In 1984 a study was done to compare the arrest rate of civilians suffering from mental
illness and the arrest rate of civilians labeled as mentally healthy. It found that 5.4% of the
arrests made at the time of the study were identified by the law enforcers as mentally ill. At the
time of the study, no type of training was offered to the law enforcers to assist them in
identifying which civilians suffered from mental illness and which did not. If the law enforcers
had the training to recognize signs of mental illness, it is very likely that the 5.4% would have
been much higher; however, even if the percentage did not rise, it is clear that law enforcers are
almost guaranteed to make an arrest on a civilian suffering from mental illness without any
special training that ensures the safety for both the civilian and the law enforcer. (Teplin, 1984).
In 1980, a study was conducted with the interest in finding out how many inmates in the
New York State prison suffered from severe mental illness. They found that 15% of all inmates
in the New York State prison were, in fact, suffering from severe mental illness. (Rotter & Carr,
2011).
In 2011, the study was conducted again with the same interest; however they wanted to
compare the numbers from 1980 to 2011 in hopes of backing up their claims of criminal
recidivism. They found that that the number of inmates suffering with severe illness was, again,

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15%. This is a concerning statistic, because in the state of New York, many programs have been
formed in an attempt to get the percentage down from 15%. 21 mental health courts opened in
2009. They arent working. (Rotter & Carr, 2011).
While the safety for law enforcers and civilians are equally important, it is worth noting
that individuals who are suffering from mental illness could go without treatment for extended
periods of time in jail. This is not a claim that our prisons are choosing to neglect these inmates
who are suffering from these harsh conditions. It is the lack of provided education that
contributes to our law enforcements failure to recognize the signs and symptoms of someone
suffering from mental illness. (Home Office, 2004).
If individuals who suffer from mental illness do not get the care they receive in prison,
many times they misbehave. This can increase their sentence in prison, increasing the amount
of time that they can go without the healthcare that they need. This violent circle, again,
compromises both the safety of the inmates and the law enforcers. Rules that are expected of all
inmates could be completely incomprehensible to inmates suffering from severe mental
conditions, and the expectation of the prison personnel would likely be more lenient with the
understanding that the inmate is, indeed, suffering from mental illness. (Adams & Ferrandin,
2011).
If the law enforcers get the training that they need to recognize the symptoms of mental
illness, these problems that compromise the safety of our civilians and police officers are
expected to completely halt. Lower amounts of violent arrests, increased care for individuals
with mental illness in the prison setting, and less time for the individuals spent in jail.

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Goals and Objectives
The goal of the Crisis Intervention Training is to end all fatal events involving police and
people living with mental illness.
The objectives of the Crisis Intervention Training involve the following:
-Form curriculum for the police academy training.
- Drop the injuries to police officers responding to mental health calls by 80%.
- Lower the average time that inmates, with mental illnesses, are in jail.
Methods
While the goal of the CIT program would be extremely difficult to achieve, as each
objective is completed, the safety of law enforcers and people with mental illness will greatly
improve. NAMI believes that this program goal ties in directly with the goals and mission of the
organization as it serves both individuals suffering from mental illness and those affected by it.
Each objective has a very specific methodology that will help complete it successfully.
Objective One
As stated above, curriculum will need to be formed so that the officers receive consistent
and well-planned training. The training will involve an extra week that will be added to the end
of the already required Basic Training (Tier 1) through ILEA. A committee of five social
workers with at least a Masters degree and a specialization in mental health will be paid for two
months to organize a credible and effective week of training. The committee will be expected to
meet for a total of at least ten hours per week.
NAMI has added a board position for one social worker with at least a Masters degree
and a specialization in mental health to be paid full time. This social worker will be expected to

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instruct the previously organized curriculum at ILEA from March-July (40 hours per week) each
year.
During the rest of the year, this social worker will be tasked with the mission to advocate
for those suffering from mental illness and to collect data to show whether the CIT program is
succeeding or failing. At the end of each December, this social worker will report their findings
from that year to the rest of the NAMI executive board. These findings will be reported to the
public.
While the social worker will have a board position, he/she will be evaluated by the chief
executive of NAMI each year.
Objective Two
The second objective is to drop the injuries to police officers responding to mental health
calls by 80%. While this might seem like a lofty percentage, the 80% comes from a statistic that
spawned from the first year that CIT was introduced in Memphis. The University of Memphis
created a CIT center that provided the training necessary on a volunteer basis. The first year the
program were implemented, injuries to police officers responding to mental health calls dropped
by the 80%. This is also evidence that the program has worked.
To track the progress, the social worker mentioned in objective one will be charged with
organizing the data. The social worker will then report his/her findings to the public at the end of
each December. This will both provide NAMI and its funders a concrete statistic that will
determine whether the program is working or not.
Objective Three
The third objective is to lower the amount of time that inmates suffering from mental
illness spend in prison. It was mentioned in the Needs Assessment section that approximately

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5.4% of arrests made are of a person suffering from mental illness. It is expected that the 5.4%
does not reflect the true amount of individuals who suffer from mental illness, as it is believed
that, since law enforcers dont have the CIT training, they are unable to recognize that certain
individuals are suffering from a mental illness. After the implementation of CIT, the 5.4% is
expected to rise, showing a more accurate representation of the individuals who suffer from
mental illness. If more inmates are recognized as mentally ill then they will get the treatment
that they need, and with treatment comes shorter jail time.
Again, these statistics will show if the program is succeeding or not. All reports will be
completed by the social worker mentioned in objective one.
Additional Funding
ILEA has agreed to provide all resources, free of charge, to NAMI for when CIT is in
session, each year. This is part of the partnership that also stated that NAMI would be
responsible for paying the social worker hired to instruct and organize data.
ILEA has also agreed to provide a room while training is not in session for the five social
workers that will be hired to organize and establish curriculum. The only resource that will not
be provided by ILEA is laptop computers complete with Microsoft Office software. The social
workers will need laptops only for the month that they work to complete the curriculum. This
will speed the process of developing the curriculum.
Project Preparation Timeline for 2015-2016
Objective

Sep

Oct

Nov Dec

Jan

Feb

Ma
r

Objective 1:
Form
curriculum

Apr Ma
y

Jun

Jul

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for the police
academy
training
Hire 5 social

workers for
committee
Social Work

Committee
develops
curriculum
Hire 1 social

worker for
board
position
Training for
social worker
CIT Begins
Alternatives

X
X

NAMI and ILEA executive board members had many program alternatives in mind that
had similar goals that involved putting an end to the problem mentioned in the needs assessment.
For example, NAMI has a history of Crisis Intervention Teams that have been entirely voluntary
in other states. The success that has been seen with these teams has been extremely high, but the
infrastructure has been difficult to maintain due to the high reliability on voluntary service.
ILEA agreed that if this program were made as a required course to law enforcers in training, that
it would solve these issues that other states have been experiencing.
Start-Up Budget

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Social Work Committee. As mentioned in the project preparation timeline, the process
of hiring a social worker committee will begin in September of 2015. A total of $5200 will be
needed to pay five MSW social workers with experience in mental health for a month of work at
ten hours per week. This number was decided after taking a median salary of an MSW social
worker and finding that the hourly pay comes to $25.Ten hours per week was determined so that
the social workers could work a side job while still working with the committee, and it is
expected to have more applicants for the position. (Salary.com, 2015).
Travel Expenses. To assist the board social worker in advocating for civilians with
mental health disorders, a total of $220 will be needed to supply gas money $0.22 per mile with a
limit of 50 miles per week.
Telephone Service. One phone will need to be installed, and the monthly rate will need
to be paid. This total cost will come to $432.
Equipment. For one month, five laptops will need to be rented and must have Microsoft
Office software installed. This cost will come to $795. Once a board member social worker is
hired, a laptop will need to be purchased. This cost will come to $300. Microsoft Office will
need to be installed on the laptop, costing $70 per year. This brings the total cost of equipment to
$1165.
Operating Budget
Salary. The board social worker will be paid $50,000 per year. All details of job
description are in the section labeled Objective One above.
Travel Expenses. It is estimated that the board social worker will make daily trips
between NAMIs Indiana center and ILEA during the months of March-July. A maximum of

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$220 will be provided to assist travel expenses each year during those months. The rate of gas
reimbursement is $0.22 per mile.
Equipment and Supplies. Equipment was covered in the start-up budget, and has no
cost in the operating budget. Supplies have been taken are of through the ILEA/NAMI
partnership and will also have no cost in the operating budget.
Evaluation Plan
Evaluation Goals
1) Determine a decrease in violent arrests made on individuals with mental illness
2) Evaluate the satisfaction of the training course according to law enforcers in training
Evaluation Design
Goal One. The main goal of the overall program was to completely remove violent
arrests made between law enforcers and individuals with mental illness. The objective was to
lower them by 80%. With this evaluation plan, the board social worker will be gathering public
police reports that are involving the arrests of individuals with mental illness from 2014. From
there the social worker will gather any police report made on the arrest of individuals with
mental illness. A percentage will be given that will determine how many of the arrests were
completed with violence. All statistics will be compared to the 2014 statistic found, seeing as
CIT had not been implemented. A report will be made public at the end of each December to
determine the success of the CIT program.
Goal Two. Evaluate the satisfaction of the training course according to law enforcers in
training. This will be completed through an end-of-course evaluation. This will give the law
enforcers in training a chance to evaluate the curriculum and the instructor. Data will be
gathered and made public at the end of each August to determine the receptiveness of the law
enforcers in training.

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Data Analysis
There are two possible outcomes when the evaluation is completed. The first outcome
will occur if the evaluations come back positive and support the objectives. CIT will be
considered a success, and each year will remain under the same structure.
The second outcome will occur if the evaluations come back with negatives, which would
be caused by a possible flaw in the programs organization. This outcome will be the most
complicated and could involve many adjustments within CIT to ensure that the objectives are
met. If there is only a slight decrease in violent arrests, NAMI executive members will take a
look at the curriculum and make any adjustments that would make a larger impact on the violent
arrest statistic. If the evaluations of the instructor or the course are slightly negative, additional
training (at the expense of NAMI and not the funder) will be provided to the social worker to
ensure a more effective learning environment for law enforcers in training.
CITI Training
In order to protect all involved in the research and evaluation, the board social worker
will be required to complete the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative. The goal of this
training will be to help the board social worker understand the importance of privacy described
in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). This is also a piece of
quality assurance and risk reduction that ILEA has requested upon the partnership.
(Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative, 2015).
Staff Evaluations
In addition to the evaluations of the law enforcers in training on the instructor, board
members will also evaluate the board social worker on their required tasks of advocacy and data
collection. This will be a simple process involving a small form that uses the Likert scale on

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topics of efficiency and effectiveness. If the evaluations are positive, no changes will be made.
If the evaluations are negative, actions will be taken to determine if the social worker is a good
fit for the program or if changes in staff should be made.
References
Adams, K., & Ferrandin, J. (2011). Managing Mentally Ill Inmates In Prison. Optimum Online ,
41 (2), 913-927.
Bonta, J. (1998). The prediction of criminal and violent recidivism among mentally disordered
offenders: A meta-analysis. Psychological bulletin , 123 (2), 123-142.
Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative. (2015). Information Privacy and Security.
Retrieved April 14, 2015, from CITI: https://www.citiprogram.org/index.cfm?
pageID=264
Home Office. HM Prison Service annual report and accounts April 2002 March 2003. House
of Commons papers 2002-03 885.
Rotter, M., & Carr, A. W. (2011). Targeting Criminal Recidivism in Mentally Ill Offenders:
Structured Clinical Approaches. Community Mental Health Journal , 47 (6), 723-726.
Salary.com. (2015). Social Workers (MSW) Salary. Retrieved April 14, 2015, from Salary.com:
http://www1.salary.com/Social-Worker-MSW-Salary.html
Teplin, L. A. (1984). Criminalizing mental disorder: The comparative arrest rate of the mentally
ill. The American Psychologist , 39, 794.

Appendix A
Budgeting Table
RESOURCE
Social Work

Requested Funding
$4,000

Match by NAMI
$1,200

Total Expenses
$5,200

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Committee
Yearly Traveling

$220

$0

$220

Expenses
Yearly Telephone

$200

$232

$432

Service
Equipment
Board Social Worker

$900
$40,000

$265
$10,000

$1,165
$50,000

Salary
TOTAL

$45,320

$11,697

$57,017

Appendix B
Cover Letter
To Whom It May Concern:

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) respectfully requests your assistance in
putting an end to the solvable problem that injures both our law enforcers and civilians who
suffer from mental illness.
5.4% of all arrests made are of people suffering from mental illness, yet it is estimated
that the 5.4% does not accurately represent the true number. This is due to the lack of training
that law enforcers have involving mental health. Since the 5.4% is lower than what is estimated,
that means that many inmates are suffering from mental illness and are not getting the treatment
they need, simply because law enforcers dont know the signs and symptoms of mental illnesses.
Crisis Intervention Training is a program organized and developed by NAMI with the
assistance of the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA), who have partnered with NAMI to
ensure the safety of its law enforcers. The program will be provided to law enforcers in training
during an added week to the already required Basic Training (Tier 1) through ILEA. The

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training will educate the law enforcers in training on how to recognize the signs and symptoms
of an individual suffering from mental illness, and how to handle situations differently and
delicately to ensure the safety of both the law enforcer and the civilian.

NAMI thanks you for taking the time to read this proposal,

-Tyler Andrzejewski (Chief Executive of NAMI)

Appendix C
Evaluation of Instructor
Question One: Do you feel like the instructor delivered the course material in an effective way?

Question Two: Do you feel like the instructor provided enough real-life that will benefit you in
the field?

Question Three: Is there anything you wish the instructor did better? If so, what?

Question Four: Was this course a benefit to your training, and do you feel like it will help you
better serve your community in the field?