Eighteen Area First Responders Receive CIT Companion Training provided by ADAMH

Eighteen correction officers, dispatchers, EMS and firefighters, who serve in the ADAMH Board region, completed Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) Companion Training on Thursday, November 18, 2021.  The one day eight-hour training was designed for first responders to react appropriately to situations involving someone with a mental illness or a developmental disability.  

The CIT Companion Training is a critical part of the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) program. The success of CIT depends on first responders’ knowledge of how to recognize a CIT call involving a behavioral health crisis, to ensure the dispatch of a CIT Officer and providing vital information and knowledge of the call to the responding CIT Officer.  Training dispatchers, fire fighters, EMS, and correction officers helps to further strengthen the CIT Team. The individuals that attend this training are able to identify whether or not the person in distress is in need of a CIT officer. This training is funded by the ADAMH Board and facilitated by Dr. James Hagen. 

Penny Dehner, Executive Director of the ADAMH Board, stated that “It is very important to assure that we have trained first responders in our Board region, not only for the safety of our officers, but also for our communities. We are really excited to make this training available.”

Congratulations to the following first responders who completed the eight-hour CIT Companion Training:

November 2021 CIT Companion First Responders