Sharon Curran, LCSW, CCDP-D has been named co-chairperson of the Bucks County Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) Task Force. Sharon serves as Associate Executive Director of Clinical Services for Lenape Valley Foundation (LVF) in Doylestown and Bristol.
In 2007, Bucks County Commissioners opted to include CIT as a component of its crisis improvement effort. The Task Force was created in 2008 to implement a CIT model for law enforcement departments in Bucks County. Law enforcement management and patrol divisions are offered 40-hour extensive training sessions provided by community mental health professionals to become certified as CIT officers. There is also a six-hour CIT introductory class.
The goal of the CIT program is to improve the outcomes of police response to citizens whose behavior is influenced by mental illness, substance use, intellectual disabilities and related conditions. Officers learn to recognize psychiatric distress and other conditions and how to de-escalate a crisis – avoiding officer injuries, consumer deaths and tragedy for the community. In addition, CIT officers learn how to link people with appropriate treatment services.
Sharon, who will be co-chairing the task force with Sergeant Andy Aninsman of the Bensalem Police Department, oversees crisis services operated by LVF at Lower Bucks Hospital and Doylestown Hospital, as well as services offered by the Foundation’s outpatient programs. She serves as the Foundation’s HIPAA officer, Chairperson of Bucks County’s Suicide Prevention Taskforce and is certified as a Mental Health First Aid Trainer.
To date, 134 individuals have been trained in the 40-hour CIT course in Bucks County. The next training will take place on November 14th at the Police Training Center in Doylestown. Additionally, the CIT Task Force has been invited to speak at the Crime Victims with Disabilities Conference in Florida later this year. Sharon and CIT Taskforce members will be speaking about how to establish a multidisciplinary team to assist and divert individuals with disabilities from the criminal justice system.
“I am encouraged by what the CIT Task Force has accomplished,” says Sharon. “Each time we complete a CIT training, there is an increase in connection between Lenape Valley Foundation crisis staff and law enforcement. We come out of the trainings with a greater understanding of what our respective roles are and how we can help each other with situations we are presented with on a daily basis. CIT training is working and Lenape Valley Foundation is proud to be a part of this program.
For more information regarding the CIT program, visit www.buckscounty.org. To find out about upcoming training sessions, contact Sharon at sharon.curran@lenapevf.org. For information regarding LVF and its services, visit www.lenapevf.org or call 215-345-5300.
PHOTO CAP: Sharon Curran (Left) with Crisis Intervention Team Task Force Co-Chair Sergeant Andy Anisman.
