BUREAU OF JUSTICE ASSISTANCE 

FACT SHEET 

OVERVIEW OF LAW ENFORCEMENTMENTAL HEALTH RESOURCES 

Law Enforcement-Mental Health 

Learning Sites 

In an effort to expand the knowledge base for law 

enforcement agencies interested in developing or 

enhancing a comprehensive police-mental health 

collaboration (PMHC), the Council of State Governments 

(CSG) Justice Center, with assistance from a team of 

national experts and the U.S. Department of Justice’s 

Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), selected 10 

law enforcement agencies to serve as national Law 

Enforcement-Mental Health (LE-MH) Learning Sites. 

Jurisdictions can engage the 10 LE-MH Learning Sites 

to discuss strategies for improving the outcomes of 

encounters between law enforcement and people who 

have mental illnesses. Because many agencies are 

struggling with the planning process and how to tailor 

successful implementation of a PMHC, these sites host 

visits from interested colleagues and other local and state 

government offcials and can share their best practices 

regarding strategic planning and implementation, data 

collection, and sustainability when seeking to implement 

or enhance tailored approaches (such as Crisis Intervention 

Teams [CIT], co-responder models, and/or mobile crisis 

teams) to more effectively respond to people who have 

mental illnesses. They also work with CSG Justice Center 

staff to develop materials for practitioners and their 

community partners. 

In 2017, the LE-MH Learning Sites responded to 2,536 

technical assistance requests, conducted 121 site visits, 

and delivered 236 trainings. Information regarding 

the 10 LE-MH Learning Sites can be found at https:// 

csgjusticecenter.org/law-enforcement/projects/mentalhealth-learning-sites/. See the table on Page 2 for program 

highlights at each location. 

Police-Mental Health Collaboration 

Toolkit 

In 2016, BJA launched an online toolkit intended to provide 

support to law enforcement agencies around the country for 

planning and implementing programs to more appropriately 

respond to calls for service involving people who have 

mental illnesses. The PMHC Toolkit was developed in 

partnership with the CSG Justice Center and gathers best 

practices and resources to help law enforcement agencies 

partner with behavioral health providers when responding to 

calls for service involving people who have mental illnesses. 

www.bja.gov/pmhc 

U.S. Department of Justice • Offce of Justice Programs • Bureau of Justice Assistance August 2018 

www.bja.gov 
BUREAU OF JUSTICE ASSISTANCE

FACT SHEET

LE-MH Learning Site Program Highlights 

Learning Site Program Highlights 

Arlington (MA) PD Consists of a co-response program and targeted initiatives (spearheaded by a mental health clinician 

embedded in the police department), which include a Jail Diversion Program, Hoarding Response Team, 

Elder Abuse Prevention Task Force, and Arlington Opiate Outreach Initiative. 

Gallia, Jackson, Meigs Counties (OH) 

Sheriffs’ Offces 

Three sheriffs’ offces provide a regional response in rural Appalachia, alongside a mental health 

provider. The collaborative offers pre- and post-release care to fll service gaps that exist in rural 

Appalachia; employs a Mobile Crisis Team, telemedicine, and on-call support for crisis situations in 

fve adult correctional facilities; and offers Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training to all law enforcement 

personnel. 

Houston (TX) PD Includes a multifaceted strategy staffed by various personnel, including CIT patrol offcers, co-responder 

units, a Homeless Outreach Team, a Boarding Homes Enforcement Detail, a Chronic Consumer 

Stabilization Initiative, trained dispatchers, and trained jailers. 

Los Angeles (CA) PD Uses a multilayered approach that includes triage by trained dispatchers, co-response teams, followup 

case managers, and focused community engagement. Embeds mental health professionals in the law 

enforcement department, and incorporates comprehensive data collection and information-sharing 

procedures and a robust training strategy that includes 40-hour Mental Health Intervention Training. 

Madison County (TN) Sheriff’s Offce Operates an interagency collaborative, the Jackson-Madison County Law Enforcement-Mental Health 

Collaborative, which is essential to the planning, implementation, and provision of critical services to the 

community, including the development of a 24/7 Crisis Stabilization Unit, a Homeless Unit, a training 

strategy that includes 40 hours of CIT, and mental health counselor positions embedded in the Madison 

County Jail. 

Madison (WI) PD Uses a multilayered approach, with offcers trained to be mental health liaisons and a full-time mental 

health team (sworn offcers and in-house crisis workers). Collects data and shares nonprotected 

information with line-level offcers, and provides training for all offcers using scenario-based 

approaches. 

Portland (ME) PD Embeds mental health professionals in the law enforcement agency and uses a police-mental health 

co-response model in partnership with a community-based support network. Provides CIT training for all 

offcers. 

Salt Lake City (UT) PD Employs a complementary three-team approach: CIT Team, Homeless Outreach Service Team, and 

Community Connections Center Team. The CIT multicounty collaboration provides 40 hours of training 

for patrol and corrections-based academies and a detective in the CIT Investigative Unit who follows up 

on mental health calls for service. 

Tucson (AZ) PD Uses a multilayered approach employing a co-responder program that pairs Mental Health Support 

Team offcers with mental health clinicians, Crisis Mobile Teams that work in tandem with the crisis line, 

and a Crisis Response Center. Multitiered training is open to all levels of law enforcement, mental health 

workers, call takers and dispatchers, emergency medical technicians, paramedics, and frefghters. 

University of Florida PD Coordinates with many campus entities involved with student and faculty wellness to provide training for 

university offcers, including onsite support during incidents as well as crisis intervention consultants. It is 

also positioned to respond to youth in crisis from K-12 through university-age students through the K-12 

Developmental Research School on campus. 

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Programs and Publications 

The Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program 

(JMHCP) has supported the development of numerous 

publications on the intersection of criminal justice and 

mental health. JMHCP training and technical assistance 

(TTA) products and tools are intended to support the 

successful implementation of law enforcement-mental 

health programs with structured written guidance that 

has been developed by experienced police agencies. 

Advanced tools provide written guidance to support the 

enhancement or expansion of well-established PMHCs. 

www.bja.gov/ProgramDetails.aspx?Program_ID=66 

Serving Safely is a national TTA initiative that provides 

additional resources to law enforcement to improve 

interactions between police and people affected by mental 

illnesses and developmental disabilities. The initiative 

includes leaders in the felds of policing, mental illness, 

intellectual/developmental disability, crisis intervention, 

peer advocacy, emergency medicine, technology 

development, and prosecution to enhance collaborative 

responses for people affected by mental illnesses and 

intellectual/developmental disabilities. www.vera.org/ 

projects/serving-safely 

Effective Community Responses to People in 

Mental Health Crises: A National Curriculum for 

Law Enforcement Based on Best Practices from CIT 

Programs Nationwide. This course was developed to 

expand the reach of effective crisis intervention strategies 

to law enforcement agencies and to encourage the 

development of mental health community-law enforcement 

partnership teams throughout the United States. The 

curriculum contains 25 modules on various behavioral 

health and law enforcement topics with the fexibility 

to customize with special topics and local information. 

It includes an instructor guide, participant guide, slide 

deck, pre/post evaluation, certifcate, and planning 

matrix. Leadership support and a dedicated coordinator 

can ensure long-term success. It is available at no cost to 

police agencies and mental health authorities. www.bja. 

gov/CITmaterials 

The Variability in Law Enforcement 

State Standards: A 42-State Survey on 

Mental Health and Crisis De-escalation 

Training was developed with funding 

support from BJA, and in partnership 

with the CSG Justice Center and the 

International Association of Directors of 

Law Enforcement Standards and Training. The publication 

provides a snapshot of how state training standards are 

being used to improve responses to people who have 

mental illnesses. It includes results from 42 state training 

authorities, revealing that while nearly all states have law 

enforcement training standards on mental health and crisis 

de-escalation, the required training hours, topics, and 

teaching methods differ widely. https://csgjusticecenter. 

org/law-enforcement/publications/the-variability-in-lawenforcement-state-standards/ 

Police-Mental Health Collaboration 

Program Checklists 

These checklists can help law enforcement, behavioral 

health providers, and local leaders determine whether 

their PMHC programs align with promising practices for 

improving outcomes for law enforcement encounters 

with people who have mental illnesses or who are in 

mental health crisis. The checklists are designed with 

the understanding that each law enforcement agency is 

unique and its PMHC program should be responsive to 

community needs and consistent with related resources 

in that jurisdiction. The checklists will help to determine 

whether a program is comprehensive and effective based 

on its alignment with the essential elements of a PMHC. 

Each checklist also addresses the particular management 

and oversight responsibilities of a given administrator. 

www.bja.gov/pmhc 

• Checklist for Law Enforcement Leaders 

• Checklist for Law Enforcement Program Managers 

• Checklist for Behavioral Health Agency Leaders 

• Checklist for County and City Leaders 

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BUREAU OF JUSTICE ASSISTANCE

FACT SHEET

ABOUT BJA 

BJA helps to make American communities safer by strengthening the nation’s criminal justice system: Its grants, 

training and technical assistance, and policy development services provide state, local, and tribal governments 

with the cutting-edge tools and best practices they need to reduce violent and drug-related crime, support law 

enforcement, and combat victimization. To learn more about BJA, visit www.bja.gov or follow us on Facebook 

(www.facebook.com/DOJBJA) and Twitter (@DOJBJA). BJA is a component of the Department of Justice’s Offce of 

Justice Programs. 

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