This Guide is about how interventions can best occur when law enforcement officers (e.g. police, truancy officers, sheriffs, school resource officers) respond to children or youth experiencing a mental health crisis.

Lacking adequate crisis planning or access to emergency services, families frequently must resort to calling for police assistance when their child’s behavior is out of control, threatening and potentially dangerous. Too frequently, these calls for help result in additional trauma from police officers untrained, inexperienced or ill prepared to respond to their calls for assistance.