Enhancement of CIT for Youth: Exploring the Effect of CIT-Y on Police Officers

Background. One million youths, under 18, are arrested annually. Approximately 20% of youth involved in the justice system have a serious mental illness (SMI), which is twice as high when compared to the general population of U.S. youth. Recently, a modified Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) geared specifically for youth (CIT-Y) has become available. CIT is a three-pronged approach to preventing arrest of those with SMI through police training, community advisory boards, and 24-hour crisis center availability. While there has been some research on the efficacy of CIT on police officer interaction with adults, there has been little research on CIT-Y. The CIT-Y curriculum was developed by the Mental Health/Juvenile Justice Network in collaboration with the MacArthur Foundation. The training focuses on youth’s psychological, emotional and physical development as it pertains to mental health, with the goal of decreasing legal involvement. Therefore, this study addresses two questions: Does training make a difference in police officers’ knowledge of youth? How does CIT-Y training impact attitudes of police officers about youth with mental illnesses?

Methods. The 8-hr model of CIT-Y requires the 40-hr CIT training (i.e. s/s of mental illness; de-escalation techniques) as a pre-requisite. Police (n=183) in two Midwest counties underwent the same training (with the same trainer), months after CIT. Using a mixed methods approach, we employed a pre/post-test design to assess training outcomes and semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of officers. A 26-items, Likert-scaled (1= Strongly Agree; 5= Strongly Disagree) questionnaire assessed officers on youth development, de-escalation, mental health and resources. Cronbach’s alphas for total 26-items were α=.660 (Pre-test) and α=.796 (Post-test). Officer selection (n=12) was purposeful, stratifying by rank and gender. Interviews lasted an average 30 to 40 minutes. Participants were asked open-ended questions about what they feel they gained from the additional 8 hours on youth and how it differed from what skills they may have developed that would facilitate engagement with youth. The interviews were coded in a matrix, where individual officers were listed on one axis, and themes were on the other.

Results. Paired sample t-test found significant difference between pre-test (M= 98.4; SD=7.18) and Post-test (M=105.2; SD=8.6); t (117)=10.776, p=.000). There were no differences between county affiliation, gender, level of education, years on the force or having a minor child. Analysis of the interviews found that the officers favored CIT over CIT-Y, due to the panel discussions and scenario trainings, yet the CIT-Y training did effect their views on youths. Officers discussed differences between youth compared with adults; with several referring to  brain development. One officer stated: “Bring yourself down to their level. They’re children, not adults.”

Conclusion/Implications. These results suggest officers to gain knowledge from the additional training obtained from CIT-Y. However, knowledge does not always transfer to skills or behavior and further research will assess long term outcomes. Social workers interacting with police can continue to emphasize youth development and assist officers in their quest for additional skills/tools in working with youth who may be suffering from mental health issues.