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Mental Health Response Advisory Committee Duties

Learn about the duties of the Mental Health Response Advisory Committee.

Committee Duties

The Advisory Committee shall:

  • Provide guidance to assist the City in developing and expanding the number of crisis intervention certified responders, Crisis Intervention Unit, and Crisis Outreach and Support Team.
  • Be responsible for considering new and current response strategies for dealing with chronically homeless individuals or individuals perceived to be or actually suffering from a mental illness, identifying training needs, and providing guidance on effective responses to a behavioral crisis event.
  • Provide guidance to Albuquerque Police Department on the development of protocols that govern the release and exchange of information about individuals with known mental illness to facilitate necessary and appropriate communication while protecting their confidentiality
  • Review data collected by crisis intervention certified responders, Crisis Intervention Unit, and Crisis Outreach and Support Team for the sole purpose of facilitating program guidance.
  • Review the behavioral health training curriculum; identify mental health resources that may be available to Albuquerque Police Department; network and build more relationships; and provide guidance on scenario-based training involving typical situations that occur when mental illness is a factor.
  • Seek to enhance coordination with local behavioral health systems, with the goal of connecting chronically homeless individuals and individuals experiencing mental health crisis with available services.
  • Within 12 months of the Effective Date, and annually thereafter, the Advisory Committee will provide a public report to Albuquerque Police Department that will be made available on Albuquerque Police Department's website, which shall include recommendations for improvement, training priorities, changes in policies and procedures, and identifying available mental health resources.

Composition of the Advisory Committee

The Advisory Committee shall include representation from Albuquerque Police Department command staff, crisis intervention certified responders, Crisis Intervention Unit (CIU), Crisis Outreach and Support Team (COAST), and City-contracted mental health professionals.

Albuquerque Police Department shall also seek representation from the Department of Family and Community Services, the University of New Mexico Psychiatric Department, community mental health professionals, advocacy groups for consumers of mental health services (such as the National Alliance on Mental Illness and Disability Rights New Mexico), mental health service providers, homeless service providers, interested community members designated by the Forensic Intervention Consortium, and other similar groups.