Handling Behavioral Health Safely

SESSION INFO

Tuesday, August 29, 2023
3:15 PM - 4:15 PM
Session Type: Workshop

Crisis Intervention Teams are most effective when they involve trained officers, mental health specialists, community leaders, and people with lived experiences. This presentation provides an in-depth look at how to implement Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) Training in their department. A review of how to start, why it is important, success stories of parole and probation officers who are trained in CIT, and improvements that can be made as understanding and implementation of CIT grows. Participants will see how community corrections officers are being trained and working within the crisis and behavioral health systems. Attendees will learn where improvements in their own systems can be made while networking together and identifying ways to change the stigma of mental health, crisis intervention, and officer de-escalation.

SESSION PRESENTERS

Chris Roberts
Supervisor, UT Dept of Corrections


Chris Roberts has been with the Utah Department of Corrections for over 15 years and has worked in roles including Corrections Officer, Agent Associate, Agent, Field Training Officer, and is currently a Supervisor for Adult Probation and Parole. Chris is also the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) Coordinator and provides training to Adult Probation and Parole Officers as well as other law enforcement officers in Utah. Chris was awarded CIT Officer of the Year in 2018 and again in 2022 by CIT Utah. He is passionate about empowering officers with skills to improve mental health and de-escalation responses.