Meetings and Convenings

On March 10–12, 2020, hundreds of people from across the country who are fighting to turn the tide of fatal overdoses and the slow death of addiction will meet in the shadow of the nation’s capital to learn and share how they are reclaiming communities and saving lives.

The National Center for Youth Opportunity and Justice (NCYOJ) is currently accepting applications from individuals interested in becoming a certified trainer in the Crisis Intervention Teams for Youth (CIT-Y) curriculum.

The standard Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training offered to most police officers focuses primarily on response techniques for adults. While there are some general similarities between adults and youth, there are important and unique distinctions that require specialized knowledge and training. CIT-Y trains law enforcement officers on response techniques that are appropriate for youth with behavioral health needs.

The curriculum covers the following topics:

• Adolescent Brain Development
• Impacts of Childhood Trauma
• Signs and Symptoms of Behavioral Health Conditions
• Neurodevelopment Disorders
• Connecting to Resources
• Crisis Intervention and De-escalation
• Active Listening
• Juvenile Suicide
• The Family Experience
• Officer Wellness

Up to 40 participants will be selected to attend the New Orleans, Louisiana, CIT-Y Train-the-Trainer event, scheduled for March 4-6, 2020. More information and the application can be found on the NCYOJ website. Applications will be accepted through Friday, February 14, 2020.

SAMHSA's GAINS Center for Behavioral Health and Justice Transformation, operated by Policy Research Associates, Inc. (PRA), is known nationally for its work regarding people with behavioral health needs involved in the criminal justice system. Each year, the GAINS Center provides its trauma-informed responses training, How Being Trauma-Informed Improves Criminal Justice System Responses, to the field via direct deliveries and Train-the-Trainer (TTT) events. The target audiences for the training program are primarily community-based criminal justice system professionals, including law enforcement, community corrections (probation, parole, and pre-trial services), court personnel, as well as human service providers that serve adult justice-involved populations.

To find out more about the How Being Trauma-Informed Improves Criminal Justice System Responses training program, please visit the GAINS Center website.

The GAINS Center is now soliciting applications from experienced trainers (individuals) who are interested in developing their capacity to provide trauma-informed training in their local agencies/communities via the GAINS Center's How Being Trauma-Informed Improves Criminal Justice System Responses training program. Selected applicants will learn to facilitate the training via a centralized TTT event and subsequently deliver the training program in their local communities across the country. While not a requirement to apply for this opportunity, this year's training events will place a special emphasis during the selection process on applicants who provide training to drug courts and/or reentry programs. 

The GAINS Center is offering this event to experienced trainers who successfully complete the application process at no cost to the participant. While participants must cover their own travel expenses, there are no fees for registration, tuition, materials, or follow-up technical assistance and support associated with the event.  If this TTT event for individuals is of interest to you, please review the solicitation and submit your completed application form to the GAINS Center no later than February 21, 2020.

Don't miss this exciting opportunity to become the local "expert" in this training program for your agency or community!

There are three TTT events, scheduled for June 10-11, July 22-23, and August 12-13, 2020, at the Sage Colleges in Albany, New York, so please note the dates before applying. You will be expected to attend one of these full 2-day trainings.

Apply at https://www.prainc.com/solicitation-for-applications-samhsas-gains-center-seeks-experienced-trainers-to-participate-in-trauma-informed-responses-train-the-trainer-ttt-event-for-individuals/?utm_source=individualTTT2020&utm_medium=internal&utm_campaign=email.

(Please note that the start date [January 17, 2020] and end date [February 21, 2020] associated with this posting on the COAP Resource Center refer to the dates that the solicitation is open.) 

The 2020 Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Program (COAP) National Forum will be held on March 10–12, 2020, in Arlington, Virginia, and presentation proposals are being accepted through December 20, 2019.

COAP is supported by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance and provides support to states, units of local government, and tribal governments to plan, develop, and implement comprehensive efforts to identify, respond to, treat, and support those impacted by the opioid epidemic. Learn more at www.cossapresources.org.

Session presentations should be tailored to provide stakeholders with timely and relevant information for their particular fields in one of the following focus areas:

• Promote Public Safety and Support Access to Treatment and Recovery Services in the Criminal Justice System
• Strengthen the Collection and Sharing of Data Across Systems to Understand and Address the Impact of the Opioid Epidemic
• Align and Maximize Resources Across Systems and Leverage Multidisciplinary Partnerships and Innovative Collaborations
• Prevent Opioid Misuse and Addiction

Additional information is available on the proposal submission form.