Apply Now: Join a Learning Community for Community and Crisis Response Teams to Improve Responses to Youth
The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center, in collaboration with the Center for Policing Equity (CPE), is hosting a virtual learning community focused on expanding community and other crisis team responses to youth.
The learning community will be led by the CSG Justice Center, a nationally recognized technical assistance provider, and include opportunities for mutual learning through peer-to-peer support and guidance from experts in the field. Throughout the learning community, participants will hear how they can significantly enhance their community’s emergency response system to better meet the needs of youth experiencing behavioral health crises. Teams will also have the chance to troubleshoot their distinct challenges with CSG Justice Center policy staff.
The topics for the sessions will be tailored to the specific needs of the learning community participants, but they could include considerations and best practices on responding to youth experiencing homelessness; youth with mental illness or substance use disorders; family and intimate partner violence; crises related to school, peers, or truancy; immigration concerns; and more.
Session dates will occur on:
- November 14, 2024
- January 9, 2025
- February 6, 2025
- March 6, 2025
- April 3, 2025
- May 1, 2025
Participating teams will also be required to join a related Data Connections program with three additional session dates and office hours. See below for more information.
All sessions will take place 2:00–3:30 p.m. ET via Zoom.
Teams who are interested in participating in this learning community should complete and submit the above application by 11:59 p.m. ET on Friday, October 25, 2024. A CSG Justice Center staff member will follow up with applicants by Monday, November 4. If you have any questions, contact Michelle Fernando at mfernando@csg.org or Mari Bayer at mbayer@csg.org.
This application should take approximately 10 minutes to complete.
How can I apply?
In each application, leaders should outline their partners, describe their existing program, and note any existing resources they have for the intervention to work well (such as funding streams and complementary community services).
Staff from the CSG Justice Center may schedule individual 30-minute meetings with applicants to learn more about each team and to understand what supports and resources would be most beneficial if they were to participate in the learning community. After teams are finalized, CSG Justice Center staff will send calendar invitations, access instructions, and supporting materials for the sessions.
Who should apply?
This learning community is open to program managers and other members of existing community responder teams or behavioral health crisis response teams who are interested in improving their responses to youth. Applicants must have a committed director, program/team manager, or supervisor who is available to attend every session.
As the session topics are determined, they are welcome to invite additional team members, system and community leaders, or other partners to participate in the session(s) as appropriate.
Data Connections Program
Learning community members must also participate in a related Data Connections program, which includes structured sessions and drop-in office hours outside of the regular learning community sessions. This program is dedicated to supporting strategic planning, data collection, data analysis, and data reporting activities.
- Session dates for the Data Connections program will occur on:
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- January 29, 2025
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- March 26, 2025
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- May 28, 2025
- Office hours:
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- February 26, 2025
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- April 30, 2025
All these sessions will take place 2:00–3:30 p.m. ET via Zoom.
Photo by kat wilcox via Pexels
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