The Seattle Police Department's Crisis Response Team is one of the states longest running co-response programs. CRT was established in 2010 as a co-responder model in which we partner a law enforcement officer with a mental health professional to respond to behavioral crisis 911 calls. While our prime focus is on active 911 crisis calls, we also do follow up work on many of the 10,000+ crisis calls through out the city each year. Our follow up work largely consists of working with someone for short periods of time to connect them to other more long-term resources. You will be embedded within Seattle Police Department, and will have an opportunity to explore the complexities at the intersection of law enforcement and mental health from a variety of frameworks.

Time with CRT is largely focused on working with clients in active crisis, or after a recent crisis resulting in a 911 call. As such you will be able to work directly with clients in the field wherever they may be needing support, as well as office-based communications to follow up with individuals who are high needs or disproportionate utilizers of 911 services. We work with a wide variety of crises ranging from individuals just looking for resources, to individuals attempting suicide, and everything in between.

We work with families of individuals in crisis, as well as community providers to improve situations for those individuals. Service providers throughout Seattle are an important part of the crisis spectrum, and building relationships with those providers is a major way we create long term change. You will be exposed to the difference in law enforcement and social work policies, obligations, cultures, and how we balance these in an effective way in the co-responder model.

You will be able to learn about the intersection of law enforcement and mental health, and what that means for the community. You will have the opportunity to observe court hearings and committee meetings, as well as access to a variety of professionals who can discuss how change has happened over time and where things are headed. You will observe and engage in the expansive network of behavioral health and crisis services and resources, therefore, gaps in this broad safety net. You may learn about historical, current, or developing policies/procedures/laws whose intention may differ from impact.

N/A

Please be aware that chosen applicants will have to go through a backgrounding process including fingerprinting and an in-person interview with a backgrounding detective, and the full process will take 6-8 weeks. Though we welcome individuals with lived experience, Individuals with recent criminal history may not be eligible due to access to Criminal Justice Information Systems limitations. Due to this, we ask for applications be submitted by July 14th to allow plenty of time for backgrounding process.

Interested applicants should email Zee Andrignis (zeva.andrignis@seattle.gov) their resume and a cover letter. You may also reach out with any questions or concerns.