CAHS conducted its 20th Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training, Dec. 12-16, providing a 40-hour institute to help law enforcement officers better respond to behavioral health crises in the community.
CAHS Training Director John Nosacka, LCSW, MSHCM, led the training of 21 officers from the following police departments: Baker, Baton Rouge, Gonzales, Zachary, LSU, and Southern University. Upon completion, the participants received certificates and lapel pins to acknowledge their training and to reflect their empathy in providing assistance to persons in crisis.
Course instructors included CAHS experts: Executive Director Jan Laughinghouse, PhD, LCSW-BACS, LAC; Board Member Gerri Hobdy; Sharon Ellison; Bryan Gros, PhD; and Anita Williams. BRPD Lt. Darryl Honore also spoke to the officers about the importance of the behavioral health crisis training.
Since 2008, 786 law enforcement officers and cadets have completed CAHS’ CIT Training. The recent training included presentations from several local agencies about their services and resources: BRPD, Bridge Center for Hope, East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner’s Office, East Feliciana Parish Coroner’s Office, VIALINK (formerly the Crisis Intervention Center), Alzheimer’s Services of the Capital Area, Start Corp., Veterans Administration, and National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI).