Social Workers

Building a robust crisis system of care requires collaboration between multiple systems and stakeholders. Community-based organizations can enhance existing crisis systems by providing services, support, and lived experience to people in crisis. As the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is uniquely positioned to share the value of community-based organizations to support a coordinated community crisis response.

Law enforcement often respond to youth experiencing behavioral health crises as first responders to provide connections to emergency care. Unfortunately, law enforcement-only responses to youth in crisis can result in higher risk of involvement in the juvenile justice system and traumatization. Though trainings for law enforcement agencies on behavioral health crisis responses and trauma-informed care are increasing, many of them are not properly trained or do not have the resources available to effectively respond to the needs of youth in crisis.

On Thursday, August 17, at 2:00pm ET, the Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance’s (BJA’s) Rural Violent Crime Reduction Initiative (RVCRI) is hosting a webinar addressing strategies for handling sensitive investigations, such as sexual assault and intimate partner violence, in rural communities, best practices, and lessons learned.

Attendees will hear from Brian Eads, Investigator at the Gering, NE Police Department and Michael Tunink, Senior Criminal Attorney at the Coconino County, AZ County Attorney’s Office. During the event, attendees will:

This webinar will introduce participants to restorative justice strategies to support reintegration following incarceration. It will correspond with the publication of a white paper on Restorative Reintegration by the National Center on Restorative Justice.