CIT IS MORE THAN JUST TRAINING
…it’s a community program
The CIT Model was first developed in Memphis and has spread throughout the country. It is known as the “Memphis Model.”
CIT is a program that provides the foundation necessary to promote community and statewide solutions to assist individuals with a mental illness and/or addictions. The CIT Model reduces both stigma and the need for further involvement with the criminal justice system. CIT provides a forum for effective problem solving regarding the interaction between the criminal justice and mental health care system and creates the context for sustainable change.
Research also shows that communities that prescribe to the CIT Program model, have higher success rates in resolving serious crisis situations.
Basic Goals:
1. Improve Officer and Consumer Safety
2. To help persons with mental disorders and/or addictions access medical treatment rather than place them in the criminal justice system due to illness related behaviors.
The CIT Program, based on the “Memphis Model”, has been spreading across the U.S. and abroad since 1988.
The following documents are designed to help you learn more about CIT and to also help you start a program in your area.
- CIT Program Overview.2017.pdf
- CIT Broader Overview
- 5 Legs of the Stool
- “Memphis Model” Core Elements
- Police/Mental Health Collaboration Tool Kit
A sound CIT program based on the “Memphis Model” Core Elements will help strengthen your community in working together to help people who live with mental illness and/or addictions who are in crisis, it will also improve your community mental health system, save lives and bring hope and recovery to those in need. A strong CIT Program (and not just training) will sustain for years to come.