The U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance is seeking applications for FY 2019 funding for the Academic-based Training Initiative to Improve Police Responses for People with Mental Illness and Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. This initiative focuses on developing academic-based, transdisciplinary crisis intervention training to educate, train, and prepare law enforcement officers so that they are equipped to appropriately interact with people who have mental illnesses and intellectual and developmental disabilities in the course of completing their job responsibilities. This training should be developed by an institution of higher education, in conjunction with health care professionals, to provide crisis intervention training that will focus on understanding mental and behavioral health, developing empathy, navigating community resources, and de-escalation skills and practical application training of those skills for all first responders. This grant program will serve as a pilot program, establishing best practices for law enforcement agencies.
The solicitation provides further details about the program. Applications are due by October 4.
Source: JusticeCenter