Support Team Assisted Response Model

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Maya Pinedo #21919693 Contexts Project 23 February 2024 AP Final Draft An abundance of research into the negative effects of law enforcement response to mental health crisis as well as the ineffectiveness of police Crisis Intervention Training programs indicate the importance of developing alternative response models to more safely and effectively de-escalate crisis scenarios. Case studies and statistics of individuals experiencing mental health episodes being wrongfully killed by police have called for major reform within the law enforcement system, as well as in community mental health care. “As many as 10 percent of police calls involve people with mental illness, who account for 20 to 25 percent of individuals killed by law enforcement” …show more content…
In effect, community treatment of crisis situations will reduce use of force and arrest, because service users are less likely to be viewed as dangerous or criminal. Support Team Assisted Response (STAR) program in Denver, Street Crisis Response Team (SCRT) program in San Francisco, California, are examples of unarmed, non-police, public health–informed alternative response teams. Treatment not trauma, a public-health-based mobile crisis response team in Chicago, hires residents from the community and trains them alongside mental health professionals. Their focus is based on prevention and democratizing care, rather than intervention in crisis response (Reinhart 2024). What these programs indicate is that a majority of mental health crisis calls can be efficiently handled by community health care representatives. One of the country’s oldest alternative response programs that is located in Oregon, Crisis Assistance Helping Out On The Streets (CAHOOTS), “reported that only 0.006% of 24,000 calls required police backup,” Marcus & Stergiopoulos, pg. 113. …show more content…
“Biden-Harris Administration Awards More than $64 Million in Grants to Fund Mental Health Services and Awareness Training across United States and Territories.” HHS.Gov, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 23 Aug. 2023, www.hhs.gov/about/news/2023/08/23/biden-harris-administration-awards- more-than-64-million-grants-fund-mental-health-services-awareness-training-united-states- territories.html#: This source provides recent information about the government funds advocated towards mental health care in the U.S. “Community Policing Development: Implementing Crisis Intervention Teams.” Community Policing Development: Implementing Crisis Intervention Teams | COPS OFFICE, U.S. Department of Justice, 2023, cops.usdoj.gov/cit. This website, run by the Department of Justice, provides information on the implementation of police Crisis Intervention Models, as well as the funding that has been granted to these programs Dee, T. S., & Pyne, J. 2022. The 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary A community response approach to mental health and substance abuse crises reduces crime. Science Advances, 8(23), eabm2106–eabm2106. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abm2106 Ghelani, A. 2022. The 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the