Partners in Crisis: Improving Police Response to Individuals in Moments of Crisis by Providing Service Alternatives, Roanoke Valley, Virginia, 2022 (ICPSR 39294)
This project was an experimental evaluation of a collaborative partnership among the Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy at George Mason University (CEBCP-GMU), Roanoke Police Department (RPD), Roanoke County Police Department (RCPD), Salem Police Department (SPD), and Vinton Police Department (VPD) as well as Blue Ridge Behavioral Healthcare (BRBH) in Roanoke Valley region of Virginia to conduct a place-based cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT) to evaluate the effects of the co-responder model on subsequent outcomes of individuals who were experiencing a crisis and involved in mental health-related calls for service. Responding to incidents involving individuals with mental illness has been a challenge for police officers.
While co-response teams have been embraced as an effective police response strategy, most prior evaluation studies on co-response teams focused on outcomes that are not directly related to individuals' subsequent mental health state. Additionally, the lack of experimental research hinders our ability to draw causal conclusions on the effects of co-response teams. To address this knowledge gap, this study evaluated the effectiveness of co-response teams on hospitalization outcomes of individuals in crisis using a place-based randomized controlled trial in southwest Virginia.
Promoting School Safety: A Comprehensive Emotional and Behavioral Health Model, Baltimore, Maryland, 2014-2017 (ICPSR 38192)
Baltimore County Public Schools (BCPS) with funding from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, National Institute of Justice, Developing Knowledge about What Works to Make Schools Safe solicitation, partnered with The National Center for School Mental Health, University of Maryland to address the significant school safety issue of student emotional and behavioral health crises. In 2012, BCPS implemented a five-year strategic plan known as Blueprint 2.0: Our Way Forward.
One of the major goals of the plan states: "Every school and office will be safe and secure, promote individual wellbeing and provide positive, respectful and caring environments for teaching, learning and working." The plan included key actions which call for "equitable access to counseling, social work, and psychological and other support services" as well as more "internal and external partnerships to improve delivery of mental health and other supportive services."
This study employed a randomized controlled design to evaluate the impact of the emotional and behavioral health crisis response and prevention (EBH-CRP) model on school safety, emotional and behavioral health outcomes, and stakeholder knowledge and preparedness to address emotional and behavioral health concerns across the continuum. A cost-benefit analysis assessed the net benefits of the EBH-CRP intervention.