Portage County CIT Crisis Intervention Team Training for Law Enforcement Professionals & School Personnel
What is CIT Training?Upcoming CIT TrainingsWhat is CIT Education Collaboration?
Portage CIT Officer of the YearWhat is Crisis Intervention Team Training?Sponsored nationally by the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the CIT program trains officers and others to handle incidents involving people who have a mental illness, to manage crisis situations for the safety of everyone involved and to learn about alternatives to jail. Communica Statistics from CIT programs across the country have shown that the training reduces injury to officers and others involved in incidents. It also decreases the number of persons in the court system because they can be diverted into community services. The National Alliance of the Mentally Ill points out that most people with mental illness are not violent. The Portage County Chief's Association has adopted the Crisis Intervention Team Training as a countywide program coordinated by the Mental Health & Recovery Board of Portage County with assistance from the Portage County Sheriff's Office. The Mental Health & Recovery Board introduced the CIT program in April 2006 under the leadership of law enforcement professional Dennis Missimi who is currently a major with the Portage County Sheriff's Office. There are now more than 180 officers trained. Every police department in the county and the Portage County Sheriff's Department have staff trained through CIT. New programs were initiated for dispatchers and school personnel. Click here to go to the article on CIT Education Collaboration. In its job overseeing a system of mental health and recovery services for county residents, the Mental Health & Recovery Board is focusing on coordination that helps support persons in the community with appropriate mental health and recovery services while using funds efficiently to provide quality service. With CIT training, law enforcement professionals collaborate as gatekeepers referring at-risk individuals into services. CIT also lessens the criminalization of persons whose behaviors are driven by mental health disorders. The end result is to reduce repeat offenses and costs to the courts and law enforcement while helping consumers have stable lives in the community. This does not apply to persons in crisis who are charged with felonies or with crimes of violence unless the victim of the crime agrees to the alternative sentencing. For more information about CIT, click here to go to CIT on the NAMI Web site. For information about Portage County CIT, contact MHRB Associate Director Joel Mowrey at 330-673-1756, ext 203, or email him by clicking here. CIT TrainingsLook here for announcements of trainings for:
CIT Education Collaboration: Training open to all school employeesWhat do we do when a child escalates to the point of harm to self and others? How do we run a safe school while creating an environment where children with mental health issues are served and supported? The Crisis Intervention Team Education Collaboration (CITEC) training is a five day, 40-hour program developed specifically for school personnel including teachers, administrators, guidance counselors, psychologists, bus drivers and other school employees to increase awareness of mental health problems and to learn how to prevent and manage crisis situations. CITEC is based on the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training for police officers. CIT was developed in 1988 in Memphis following the tragic shooting by a police officer of a man with mental illness. "This is not just something I use in my professional life but in my everyday life," Both CIT and CITEC emphasize the understanding of mental health problems, the need for community collaboration to help people with these problems and specific techniques to manage individuals who are experiencing behavioral and emotional crises. The ultimate goal in a crisis situation is to de-escalate the individual to keep everyone safe and to then get them the appropriate help that they need, such as hospitalization rather than incarceration. The CITEC training is usually scheduled during the summer months. Two graduate credits in education are usually also available through either Kent State or Ashland University. The CITEC curriculum offers information about mental health disorders, bullying, sexual abuse, PTSD, depression and suicide, developmental disorders including autism, domestic violence, school safely plans and substance abuse. In addition, training focuses on community resources and de-escalation techniques and role plays to practice skills. Organized and funded out of the Mental Health & Recovery Board of Portage County, the program is a cooperative effort by a group of dedicated individuals led by teacher Carrie Suvada. Mrs. Suvada is a veteran educator of students with disabilities in the Waterloo Local School District. She is joined on the planning committee by Joel Mowrey, Ph.D., associate director of the Mental Health & Recovery Board of Portage County; Major Dennis Missimi of the Portage County Sheriff's Office; Streetsboro Officer Andy Suvada who is CIT-trained and was Ohio CIT Officer of the Year in 2008; and Deb Horner, a teacher at the Portage-Geauga Detention Center. Committee members also provide some of the training along with professionals from local education, mental health and substance abuse treatment agencies. For more information, call Joel Mowrey, Ph.D., associate director of the Mental Health & Recovery Board of Portage County, 330-673-1756, ext. 203, or email him at joelm@mental-health-recovery.org. 2010 Portage CIT Officer of the Year: Jeff Futo of KSU2009 Portage CIT Officer of the Year: Michquel Penn of KSU2008 Portage & Ohio CIT Officer of the Year: Andy Suvada of Streetsboro
Futo uses CIT daily on the job and as an instructor
Officer Jeff Futo of Kent State University Police Services sees himself as an agent of change, a view that earned him the Portage County CIT Officer of the Year Award for 2010. The honor is given annually by the Mental Health & Recovery Board of Portage County and the Portage County Police Chiefs' Association. The Portage County CIT Officer of the Year Award recognizes the outstanding work of an officer who has "I see myself making a difference in two ways: through my daily interactions with people and how I present myself; and through training, instructing and presenting to professionals in police work and related fields providing them with a different way in which to view ourselves and what we do," Futo said. Futo grew up in Streetsboro where his parents, Al and JoAnne Futo, still live. He is a graduate of Streetsboro High School. He earned a BA degree in Criminal Justice and Psychology from Kent State University. Futo has been on the KSU Police force for 12 years. With his psychology background, Futo knew mental health was an important aspect of his job but the CIT training he completed in 2005 through the Akron Police Department gave him a new perspective. "It helped me realize that I need to continue educating myself about mental health issues, crisis intervention and how I can be most effective in my response," he explained. Futo quickly connected with Portage County CIT, becoming one of the first county coordinators for the organization. He has taken on a leadership role in helping to expand and advance the Portage County CIT program. "CIT training is important but having a CIT network is even more important. Police agencies must understand their role in their communities and the need for early identification of people in crisis and how to properly intervene. What we strive for is the safety of the person in crisis and the officer," Futo added. With the CIT training, he also became more aware of the need to go a step further and provide referrals to community services and check in with people after a crisis situation to follow their progress. "People are grateful. They are surprised to see an officer after an incident or that the officer would care enough to stop by and see how they are doing. This may be the most important aspect of CIT. If you don't do this, you don't have a CIT program," Futo said. CIT confirmed her beliefs about good police work
Officer Michquel Penn of Kent State University Police Services is the 2009 Crisis Intervention Team Officer of the Year in Portage County. The honor is given annually by the Mental Health & Recovery Board of Portage County and the Portage County Police Chiefs' Association. Penn, who has worked in law enforcement for almost five years, was recognized at the MHRB Annual Dinner "CIT allowed me to do what I once heard and have always believed in and that is to understand a problem before fixing it. Every call an officer responds to is different. Some I would even call special.These are the situations dealing with people who have special needs. CIT has trained and better prepared me to handle these types of calls," Penn said after accepting her award. Penn, who grew up in Cleveland, decided to become a police officer when she was a seventh grader. She said the CIT training "helped me see the big picture." "CIT is not only important but vital. CIT officers are taught to recognize various psychiatric characteristics of people with mental illness or those who may be emotionally disturbed. It teaches de-escalation techniques that can be used in a crisis situation. CIT trained officers realize there are alternatives to arrest such as getting an individual appropriate mental health care," Penn said. Penn joined the KSU department in 2006 after working for Brady Lake Village Police as a reserve officer and Kent City Police as a dispatcher. She was graduated from the University of Akron in 2004 with an Associates Degree in Applied Science in Criminal Justice Technology. In the fall of 2003, she successfully completed The University of Akron's Police Academy training. Her stories about her job include the student she worked with during a crisis who hugged her after graduation and pointed out his family members in the audience. "There are many great CIT officers at my department and departments throughout Portage County. These officers have gone through the same training and go above and beyond what is expected of them daily. We each realize arresting people is easy; helping people is the real challenge. CIT officers live up to that challenge," Penn explained. Officer Andy Suvada of Streetsboro PD is Ohio CIT Officer for 2008What he considered "just another training," has taken Streetsboro police officer Andrew Suvada to a new level of understanding and compassion for people in crises and those with mental illnesses. The 14-year veteran of the Streetsboro department is the recipient of the 2008 Crisis Intervention Team Suvada and his wife, Carrie, a special education teacher for the Waterloo Local School District, traveled to Columbus May 9 to receive the state award at NAMI Ohio's annual convention. The local honor was bestowed by Mental Health & Recovery Board Chairman Ron Heineking, a retired police chief, at the board's annual dinner on May 22. "I was a ticket writer. You don't get into the soft side of police work. Even during the training, I wasn't convinced," Suvada remembered. "This award is our way of publicly expressing our appreciation of Officer Suvada for serving as a role model for CIT officers around Ohio. His commitment to helping those in his community with mental illness has a profound impact not only on those individuals, but on their loved ones and the members of the community at large," said Jim Mauro, Executive Director of NAMI Ohio. Suvada's first week back from the training, there were 15 calls involving suicidal behaviors. He used his training to talk with residents, connect them with services and comfort them; at times even accompanying them to a mental health facility. "The light went on when I started receiving calls back from the residents involved in the incidents. You understand how powerful it is when someone tells you that you saved their life," Suvada said. The first CIT program began in 1988 in Memphis, Tennessee, in response to the shooting death of a 27-year-old man with mental illness who was involved in an incident with the Memphis Police Department. From this tragic event emerged a new way of doing business for both the police and mental health treatment system. CIT is sponsored nationwide by NAMI. For a number of years the Mental Health & Recovery Board had been planning to start a CIT program in Portage County while sending a few officers to the program in neighboring Summit County. Portage County Commissioners came through with a grant from the National Association of Counties (NACo) to start the classes in 2006. Suvada went through the week-long intensive course in Spring 2007. His lieutenant, Roy Mosely III, wrote in his nomination of Suvada for the state award, "In 2007, I sent Officer Suvada through our relatively new CIT training program here in Portage County. At the time, Andy was not particularly enthralled with my decision to send him through CIT. Upon his return to patrol activity his very first shift back, Andy left a voice mail message for me that made it clear that CIT had in fact made a difference, and that he had been personally impacted and changed." Mrs. Suvada wrote about another call Andy went on the day he came back from the training which involved reaching out to a family who had just lost a loved one to suicide. He used his newfound skills to comfort the family as they grieved. Suvada, who lives in Palmyra Township in Portage County with his family, has been a member of the Streetsboro Police Department since 1994. He has taken a leadership role, not only within his department, but in the community as well. He is very visible in the city, and his understanding of mental illness allows those in crisis to be more comfortable around him. After a crisis call, he always follows up within a few days to check on the individual or family. |
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Mental Health and Recovery Board Network Agencies
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tion and de-escalation techniques, uses and effects of psychotropic medication, serious emotional problems in children, dual-diagnosis of mental illness and alcohol and drug addiction, alternatives to jail, information about local service providers, are all part of the 40-hour classroom and hands-on CIT training. 
been trained in the national Crisis Intervention Team program and is using those skills on the job.
in Ravenna on May 19, 2009. She went through the Portage County CIT training sponsored by the MRHB in 2007.
Officer of the Year award from the National Alliance on Mental Illness Ohio. Because of his outstanding work, he is also the Portage County CIT Officer of the Year for 2008 given by the Mental Health & Recovery Board of Portage County.
