9.1-187 - Establishment of crisis intervention team programs.
§ 9.1-187. Establishment of crisis intervention team programs.
A. By January 1, 2010, the Department of Criminal Justice Services and theDepartment of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, utilizing suchfederal or state funding as may be available for this purpose, shall supportthe development and establishment of crisis intervention team programs inareas throughout the Commonwealth. Areas may be composed of any combinationof one or more counties, cities, towns, or colleges or universities containedtherein that may have law-enforcement officers as defined in § 9.1-101, orcampus police officers appointed pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 17 (§23-232 et seq.) of Title 23. The crisis intervention teams shall assistlaw-enforcement officers in responding to crisis situations involving personswith mental illness, substance abuse problems, or both. The goals of thecrisis intervention team programs shall be:
1. Providing immediate response by specially trained law-enforcement officers;
2. Reducing the amount of time officers spend out of service awaitingassessment and disposition;
3. Affording persons with mental illness, substance abuse problems, or both,a sense of dignity in crisis situations;
4. Reducing the likelihood of physical confrontation;
5. Decreasing arrests and use of force;
6. Identifying underserved populations with mental illness, substance abuseproblems, or both, and linking them to appropriate care;
7. Providing support and assistance for mental health treatment professionals;
8. Decreasing the use of arrest and detention of persons experiencing mentalhealth and/or substance abuse crises by providing better access to timelytreatment;
9. Providing a therapeutic location or protocol for officers to bringindividuals in crisis for assessment that is not a law-enforcement or jailfacility;
10. Increasing public recognition and appreciation for the mental healthneeds of a community;
11. Decreasing injuries to law-enforcement officers during crisis events;
12. Reducing inappropriate arrests of individuals with mental illness incrisis situations; and
13. Decreasing the need for mental health treatment in jail.
B. The Department, in collaboration with the Department of Behavioral Healthand Developmental Services, shall establish criteria for the development ofcrisis intervention teams that shall include assessment of the effectivenessof the area's plan for community involvement, training, and therapeuticresponse alternatives and a determination of whether law-enforcement officershave effective agreements with mental health care providers and all othercommunity stakeholders.
C. By November 1, 2009, the Department, and the Department of BehavioralHealth and Developmental Services, shall submit to the Joint Commission onHealth Care a report outlining the status of the crisis intervention teamprograms, including copies of any requests for proposals and the criteriadeveloped for such areas.
(2009, c. 715.)