Assess your community's strengths and needs
Many communities delay creating a CIT Steering Committee because of perceived problems that seem insurmountable. Specifically, many communities don't have a crisis assessment center or crisis stabilization program. The Steering Committee should focus specific time and attention to the community's strengths and needs. As the Steering Committee matures and grows more determined and committed, it will be better equipped to address challenges that may have seemed insurmountable. For example, communities may find that they have resources that were not previously identified or were not being utilized appropriately.
The key to overcoming barriers is to keep in perspective the difference between long and short term goals. For example, in the short term, your Steering Committee may focus on improving the transfer of custody at the hospital emergency room. Emergency rooms and law enforcement agencies can develop a shared procedure for transfer of custody, and set achievable goals so that you can see incremental improvement. For example, if law enforcement officers currently average six hours in the hospital emergency room waiting to transfer custody, aim to reduce that wait to three hours.
For the hospital emergency rooms, a review of procedures may allow for a quicker referral of individuals in crisis to other services.
In the short term, you may also focus on making this transfer less traumatic for individuals in crisis and more manageable for emergency room staff. For example, changing the décor of a receiving facility to be more friendly and peaceful can improve an individual's experience.
Short term successes will allow your CIT effort to move forward, while keeping in mind that your long term goals can be more ambitious. For example, your long term goal may include developing a crisis assessment center and a crisis stabilization program.
Committee members should keep in mind that the process of assessing your community's strengths and needsshould help to build relationships. As the committee works together it should begin to unify. Assessing strengthsand needs provides an opportunity for committee members to begin making agreements about their purpose, role, intentions and commitment to CIT.