T R A U M A - I N F O R M E D C R I M I N A L J U S T I C E R E S P O N S E S

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "T R A U M A - I N F O R M E D C R I M I N A L J U S T I C E R E S P O N S E S"

Anthony Walters
5 years ago
Views:

T R A U M A - I N F O R M E D C R I M I N A L J U S T I C E R E S P O N S E S Pilot Test Application: How Being Trauma- Informed Improves Criminal Justice System Responses to Women & Men with Mental

1 T R A U M A - I N F O R M E D C R I M I N A L J U S T I C E R E S P O N S E S Pilot Test Application: How Being Trauma- Informed Improves Criminal Justice System Responses to Women & Men with Mental Illness PLEASE COMPLETE THIS APPLICATION IN ITS ENTIRETY TO ENSURE THAT WE HAVE ACCURATE BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON YOUR COMMUNITY AND THAT THE APPROPRIATE LEVEL OF COMMITMENT AMONG COMMUNITY-BASED AGENCIES IS DEMONSTRATED. INCOMPLETE APPLICATIONS WILL NO BE CONSIDERED. PLEASE RETURN THIS APPLICATION VIA MAIL OR BY FEBRUARY 28, 2011: Policy Research Associates, Inc. 345 Delaware Avenue Delmar, NY Attn: Karli Keator, Training Coordinator Phone: Fax: kkeator@prainc.com Policy Research Associates, Inc. Page - 1 -

2 OVERVIEW The SAMHSA National GAINS Center, operated by Policy Research Associates, Inc. (PRA), known nationally for its work in regard to people with mental illness and co-occurring substance use disorders involved in the criminal justice system, is soliciting applications from communities interested in receiving the training How Being Trauma- Informed Improves Criminal Justice System Responses to Women & Men with Mental Illness. The purpose of this project is to pilot test and evaluate the process and impact of this unique training in three communities. PURPOSE & BACKGROUND There is growing recognition that trauma can play a significant role in criminal justice involvement. Although prevalence estimates vary, there is consensus that high percentages of justice-involved women and men have experienced serious trauma throughout their lifetime. The reverberating effects of traumatic experiences can challenge a person s capacity for recovery and pose significant barriers to accessing services, often resulting in an increased risk of coming into contact with the criminal justice system. As a central component of our efforts to assist communities in moving toward a trauma-informed continuum of services to improve outcomes for individuals who have experienced trauma, The GAINS Center has developed a half-day training specifically tailored to assist criminal justice professionals to improve responses to justiceinvolved men and women. The focus of this training is on justice-involved men and women with serious mental illness and co-occurring substance use disorders. The primary goals of the training are to (1) help criminal justice professionals to understand the impact of trauma on men and women with serious mental illness, (2) to improve safety by learning new ways to interact with people that are trauma-informed, and (3) provide strategies and techniques for implementing trauma-informed policies to support these goals within criminal justice agencies. Achieving these goals will decrease recidivism, increase safety and promote and support recovery of justiceinvolved men and women with serious mental illness by linking them to appropriate treatment and support services. SITE SELECTION The SAMHSA National GAINS Center will offer this training free of charge to three selected communities between April 2011 and September There are no fees for registration, tuition, or materials associated with these trainings. The GAINS Center will pay all costs associated with pre and post-training coordination, conference calls, training logistics, and trainer time and travel. Communities selected for these pilot tests must be able to provide facilities to comfortably accommodate up to 40 training participants. Further details will be provided to communities selected to participate. All applications for consideration must be received by February 28 th, Selected communities will be notified on or before March 21 st, TARGET AUDIENCE/TRAINING PARTICIPANTS The target audiences for this training are community-based criminal justice system professionals, including police, community corrections (probation, parole, and pre-trial services officers), and court personnel. Since the training is highly interactive in nature, to achieve maximum learning for all participants, this training opportunity is limited to 35 participants. Policy Research Associates, Inc. Page - 2 -

3 APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS It is required that each community submitting an application for consideration identify leaders within their community that support this project and are dedicated to allocating staff time to participate in both the training and evaluation activities. This may include administrators from the following local agencies: Probation department Law enforcement Court (may include Judge) In addition, communities selected to serve as pilot training sites must agree to participate in the following aspects of the project: Pre-training planning conference call(s) with GAINS Center staff; Provide space to host training space must be able to comfortably accommodate up to a total of 40 people (35 training participants and 5 GAINS Center staff); Receipt of trauma-training curriculum; Collaboration on all evaluation activities (see below). EVALUATION ACTIVITIES Communities applying for consideration must be willing to collaborate on an impact evaluation of this training. Exact measures will be determined collaboratively as each community will differ in training participant composition and available data elements. The process evaluation will include an on-site post-training focus group, pre- and post-training knowledge questionnaires, and a post-training follow-up survey to measure retention of knowledge and skills. Participants will be able to choose between completing the follow-up survey online, by paper, or over the telephone. Policy Research Associates, Inc. Page - 3 -

4 TRAUMA-INFORMED CRIMINAL JUSTICE RESPONSES PILOT TEST APPLICATION PLEASE COMPLETE THE APPLICATION BELOW. ONLY COMPLETE APPLICATIONS WILL BE CONSIDERED FOR SITE SELECTION. Jurisdiction: Population: NAME OF PERSON COMPLETING THIS FORM TITLE: ADDRESS: TEL./ FAX: Please describe any previous training criminal justice professionals in your community have received that specifically focused on the special needs of men or women with mental illness and/or histories of trauma. Please describe special crisis intervention procedures employed for women and men in crisis (e.g. use of non-invasive, non-threatening de-escalation techniques for general use and to avoid re-traumatizing procedures). Does your community currently have plans to enhance existing policies and/or services for this population? Please describe. Policy Research Associates, Inc. Page - 4 -

5 What specific goals do you hope to achieve by participating in the training? Why is it important for your jurisdiction to receive this training now? Please describe current screening and assessment methods that identify trauma and/or gender-specific issues. (If applicable, attach a copy of current screening and assessment forms to your application). Does your community have programs that offer gender and trauma-specific services? If so, please describe. Please describe any formal or informal community linkages to behavioral health providers that offer gender-specific and/or trauma-specific treatment services. Policy Research Associates, Inc. Page - 2 -

6 Please identify the lead agencies/organizations that have agreed to send staff to participate in the training How Being Trauma-Informed Improves Criminal Justice System Responses to Women & Men with Mental Illness. If you have additional agencies or organizations that plan to attend, please identify them using the other category. If there are multiple agencies of the same type, please copy the corresponding table(s) and include this information for each agency separately. Please identify a primary contact for your jurisdiction. Please ensure the primary contact is someone who will be accessible to the participants and to PRA staff for pre- and post-training activities. PRIMARY CONTACT FOR THIS APPLICATION Primary Contact Name: Role/Position: Agency: City/State/Zip: Phone: Fax: Agency Name: COMMUNITY CORRECTIONS AGENCY Name: Agency: City, State, Zip: Phone: Fax: LEAD CONTACT Policy Research Associates, Inc. Page - 3 -

7 LAW ENFORCEMENT Agency Name: LEAD CONTACT Name: Agency: City, State, Zip: Phone: Fax: COURT Agency Name: LEAD CONTACT Name: Agency: City, State, Zip: Phone: Fax: Policy Research Associates, Inc. Page - 4 -

8 OTHER Agency Name: LEAD CONTACT Name: Agency: City, State, Zip: Phone: Fax: Thank you! The SAMHSA National GAINS Center sincerely appreciates your interest in this initiative. Policy Research Associates, Inc. Page - 5 -

How Being Trauma-Informed Improves Criminal Justice System Responses

SOLICITATION FOR APP LICATIONS Training Opportunity: How Being Trauma-Informed Improves Criminal Justice System Responses PLEASE COMPLETE THIS APPLICATION IN ITS ENTIRETY TO ENSURE THAT WE HAVE ACCURATE