Youth Crisis Intervention Teams (CITs): A Response to the Fragmentation of the Educational, Mental Health, and Juvenile Justice Systems

Abstract

This article discusses one of the newest, specialized law enforcement programs in the United States: Crisis Intervention Teams (CITs) for youths with mental illness. Adapted from adult CIT models, youth CITs are designed to divert and refer for services adolescents with suspected psychiatric disorders, who have a higher prevalence of psychiatric and substance-use disorders (and their co-occurrence), compared with youths who have no mental health problems. As we suggest in the current article, the failure of the school, mental health, and juvenile justice systems to provide seriously distressed youths with coordinated and comprehensive assessment and treatment services has increased the likelihood that they will encounter the police and further penetrate the juvenile and adult criminal justice systems. We provide an early look at three programs in diverse geographic areas: Denver, Chicago, and San Antonio. We conclude with observations regarding the need for such programs as well as the challenges that police departments are likely to face in the implementation and continuation of such initiatives.