Broward County in southeastern Florida is part of the Miami metropolitan area and has nearly 2 million residents.
Broward Sheriff’s Office (BSO) plans to pilot a CIT program that features a co-responder mental health clinician paired with BSO’s CIT-trained deputies responding to calls for service for mental health crises. The clinician’s role is to provide assessment of subjects and make referrals for appropriate treatment or next steps. Cohort 2021.
Program Goals
With grant funding, BSO seeks to accomplish the following goals by expanding its CIT program:
- Accurately determine the needs of the individual in crisis and identify opportunities to connect them to necessary community resources
- Improve the way deputies respond to people experiencing mental health crises based on the Memphis Model, including how to de-escalate a mental health crisis
- Provide effective crisis intervention and reduce violent physical confrontations
- Provide effective care for mental health consumers through intervention and provide diversion opportunities from the criminal justice system to appropriate mental health treatment centers
Key Partnership Organizations
North Broward Detention Center