Today's Brief
An actor played a man in a manic crisis, and a Minnesota officer had to talk him down
Baltimore's 22,000 calls, a rural crisis team with 3 of 12 responders, and a second clinician for Mansfield police
Two crisis RFPs due in November, and crisis clinician jobs paying up to $124K
A family says Detroit's crisis team was on its way when the shots were fired
Total read time: 4 minutes
Real Impact
Officer Klay Brown walked into a scene in Fairmont, Minnesota, where a man was in the middle of a manic episode. The man was a professional actor, and the scene was one of the stress tests built into a 40-hour Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) course. The presenter's message to the class was that officers don't need to know whether it's bipolar disorder or meth before they start talking.
About 30 people took the course, from Fairmont police, two sheriff's offices, corrections, EMS and a neighboring department, and a grant covered all of them. Chief Mike Beletti says it's the first CIT course he knows of held locally, since officers used to travel to the Twin Cities for it. The full story covers how the scenarios are built to bring the right instincts out under pressure, and why county human services wants to keep the training in town.
Who to Contact:
Fairmont Police Department (Chief Mike Beletti): 507-238-3178
New Programs
Who Answers the Crisis Call Is Changing
Council President Zeke Cohen and Mayor Brandon Scott want a new Department of Neighborhood Safety that sends clinicians and peer responders to nonviolent emergencies, modeled partly on Durham's HEART. The plan also reaches into how the city dispatches 911 calls.
First Call for Help is taking over Cook County's mobile crisis service and buying radios for places with no cell signal. Its director explains who could qualify for the job, pastors included, and the backup plan if the team stays short.
The department's first co-response clinician took 165 referrals in year one. Chief Ronald Sellon explains how the department used its call data to decide when the second one works.
Resources
Funding Watch
Philadelphia DBHIDS: Mobile Crisis Services. For providers already running Community Mobile Crisis Response Teams, as part of the city's adult crisis continuum. Proposals are due November 16.
Providence, RI: Behavioral Health Outreach (PVD26-109). A one-year contract with two one-year extension options. Proposals are due November 2.
Just funded: Clearwater, FL is paying the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office $242,260 for two co-responder crisis specialists who team with Clearwater Police through September 2027.
On the Calendar
Virginia CIT Conference, Roanoke, November 16 to 18. Register through your local CIT coordinator.
NSA Winter Legislative and Technology Conference, Washington, D.C., February 8 to 11, 2027.
CoRCon 2027, the national co-responder conference. Dates and location are still to come, and the call for speakers is open.
Now Hiring
Community Services Crisis Intervention Clinician, City of Denton, TX. $77,646 to $124,238. Closes November 14.
Crisis Intervention Specialist, HART Program, Harris County, Houston. $27.00 an hour. Closes November 20.
CRT Clinician, Community Response Team, Douglas County, Lone Tree, CO. $68,953 to $103,429. Closes November 30.
Under Pressure
Sherman Butler's family has filed a $150 million federal lawsuit over his 2024 death during an eviction, arguing the bailiff and officers should have waited for the mental health crisis team police had already requested. Prosecutors ruled the shooting self-defense. If your agency has a rule on when patrol waits for a crisis team, this case is a reason to reread it.
