Houston Police Department CIT

The Honorable Jan Krocker, of Harris County's 184th Criminal Court, received the Judicial Advocate of the Year Award at the First Annual CIT International Conference held in San Antonio,Texas in June 2010. Judge Krocker received the award for her leadership role in Harris County in dealing with the large number of criminal defendants with mental illness who continually cycle in and out of the criminal justice system.

The Harris County Jail averages 2,500 inmates a day on psychotropic medications making it the largest mental health facility in the state. To address this issue, a Felony Mental Health Court was unanimously approved in 2009. Judge Krocker is leading this effort and was designated by the Criminal District Court Judges to preside over it. Judge Krocker will volunteer her time to preside over the Felony Mental Health Court in addition to handling her regular docket. Funding is being sought for the court.

A New Approach
There are 2 primary approaches to administering a CIT program. The first approach, the Memphis Model, is when you have a completely voluntary program. The goal is to train a certain percentage of your patrol force as CIT officers, usually 25%, with all volunteers. The second approach is to train all patrol personnel. There are arguments for and against each approach. Houston has adopted a hybrid approach involving veteran officers and cadets. The program is voluntary for veterans. However, all cadets receive the 40-hour CIT curriculum and serve as CIT officers upon graduating from the academy.

Law enforcement personnel from regional agencies may sign up to take the Houston Police Department's annual eight-hour CIT Refresher class. Course content changes each year. This year's class begins with an officer safety update followed by law enforcement response to individuals with dementia, case studies and a program update. Personnel attending will receive eight hours of TCLEOSE credit.

Location:	Houston Police Academy, 17000 Aldine Westfield Rd
Hours:	0800 to 1600
Cost:	$25.00
To Register:	Senior Officer Frank Webb Office Phone: 281-230-2456 Email: frank.webb@cityofhouston.net

The Houston Police Department's Mental Health Unit and the Houston Health Department are collaborating with the Mental Health Mental Retardation Authority (MHMRA) of Harris County in a pilot program that identifies the 30 most chronic mentally ill consumers in Houston. Two mental health professional caseworkers work with these individuals, who have had multiple contacts with police and who have been brought to the NeuroPsychiatric Center (NPC) numerous times, in an attempt to keep them out of crisis. The caseworkers help these consumers access the following services: outpatient mental health treatment programs, housing, primary health care, substance abuse treatment, and social security benefits. The caseworkers work closely with the following MHMRA programs/facilities: NPC, Mobile Crisis Outreach Team, Crisis Stabilization Unit, Crisis Residential Unit, Helpline and the Houston Police Department.

A second component of the program is community mental health education. A MHMRA educator works in areas of the city where police respond frequently to individuals in serious mental health crises. The educator works with individual families of consumers and the community at-large. Many family members have little or no understanding of mental illness or the crisis intervention/de-escalation techniques proven to help defuse situations involving individuals in serious mental health crises.

The pilot program ran from February 16, 2009 through August 16, 2009. The program is currently being evaluated.

The Ray C. Fish Foundation was established in 1957. Under the terms of its Charter, grants are limited to qualified charitable purposes for the support, operation, establishment, or advancement of any exclusively educational, scientific or other charitable activity in the State of Texas. Federal tax laws prohibit private foundations from making loans and gifts to individuals.

Over 350 Texas institutions have received support from the Foundation. The diverse group includes universities and colleges, hospitals, medical research programs, children's aid groups, museums, schools, libraries, parks, and many others.

Education and health care are the Foundation's primary focus. Gifts were relatively small in its early years until the Foundation was fully funded in 1966. The first major gift of five million dollars was the seed money for Houston's Texas Heart Institute.

Many education and health programs have benefited from the legacy of its Founder and his desire to help people develop their talents to better themselves and the community in which they live.

Houston Crisis Intervention Response Team Officer Eric Chimney received the Officer of the Year award at the 2008 CIT National Conference in Atlanta on November 5, 2008. Eric is a devoted employee and staunch advocate of the mentally ill and helped make the CIRT pilot an overwhelming success.

Kim Kornmayer, of the Mental Health Mental Retardation Authority of Harris County, received the Behavioral Health Professional of the Year award at the 2008 CIT National Conference in Atlanta on November 5, 2008. Kim is the director of several programs, including the clinicians on the Crisis Intervention Response Team.