Wyoming Crisis Intervention Teams (CITs) are community-based collaborations between local law enforcement officers, mental health consumers, advocacy groups and mental health providers.  CITs are designed to improve the outcomes of police interactions with people with mental illness and to divert individuals from incarceration to appropriate medical treatment. NAMI Wyoming supports CIT programs based on the Memphis Model of CIT which is an evidence-based program that requires three key components: • A community collaboration between mental health providers, law enforcement, and family and consumer advocates. This group examines local systems to determine the community’s needs, agrees on strategies for meeting those needs, and organizes police training, and determines the best way to transfer people with mental illness from police custody to the mental health system. • A 40 hour training program for law enforcement officers that includes basic information about mental illnesses and how to recognize them; information about the local mental health system and local laws; learning first-hand from consumers and family members about their experiences; verbal de-escalation training, and role-play. • Consumer and family involvement in decision-making, planning training sessions, and leading training sessions is critical.-- Ibid. or more information about this program please contact Charlee Puchner, CIT Coordinator, at 307-265-2573 or cpuchner@nami.org. _________________________________   National Alliance on Mental Illness (1997) “Crisis Intervention Team Toolkit: CIT Facts” Accessed April 4, 2008 at: http://www.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=CIT&Template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&C ontentID=56149  -- Ibid.