The Governing Board of Directors will select an Outreach Coordinator from among the Board Members to coordinate outreach and direct assistance activities. The Coordinator may, at his/her discretion, or at the request of the Governing Board, invite other CACRT active response team members to form an Outreach Committee to assist with the workload, representing the geographic areas covered by the CACRT.

CACRT Outreach Coordinator:

• Responds to requests from community leaders and assesses the need for intervention
• Performs proactive outreach to events that occur.
• Defines the scope and nature of the needed response.
• Identifies regional and/or local authorities who must approve and/or be notified of the request.
• Develops an outreach plan and contacts the appropriate Governing Board member(s) for review and guidance on the proposed response.
• Notifies appropriate local public and private mental health providers of the request and coordinates the response with them as needed.
• Assembles a well-rounded volunteer response team.
• Dispatches team members so that they arrive at the scene as a unit. No individual will be dispatched alone; the minimal team size will be two.
• Ensures that team members are wearing/carrying approved CACRT identification and protective clothing, if needed.
• Assigns each team member specific roles and responsibilities. Secures meeting sites, materials and other operational supplies.
• Organizes an intervention follow-up. Identifies community and team needs which have not been met, debriefs team members, collects data (after-action reports) and submits a report to the Governing Board in which he/she evaluates the intervention.
• Ensures sufficient coverage so that outreach can be performed during periods of personal illness, vacation, etc.

CACRT Team Members:

• Respond to requests from the CACRT Outreach Coordinator (or Outreach Committee members) to respond to the scene of a crisis event.
• Obtain needed practical, logistical information needed to respond.
• Respond as volunteers representing CACRT, following guidelines laid out in the training manual. (See Responding to Communities in Crisis: The Training Manual of the NOVA National Crisis Response Team, 2nd Edition.)
• Keep the Outreach Coordinator informed of activities on-site during the response on an agreed-upon schedule.
• Participate in team meetings/debriefings.
• Writes after-action report on approved form and submits in a timely manner, including analysis of unmet needs.

In addition to specific training related to crisis response, all applicants for team membership will be interviewed by a committee prior to acceptance. The committee shall consist of the Outreach Coordinator, one or more Governing Board Member(s), as appointed by the Governing Board President, and one current team member. A signed Memorandum of Understanding must be in the applicant's file, along with a current resume and a face photo for an identification badge. Professionally licensed applicants will provide a copy of licensure, a copy of current professional liability insurance and proof of appropriate continuing education. Two letters of recommendation will be required, one professional and one personal.

All team members will be subject to a probationary period, after which periodic reviews may take place. Any applicant not accepted for membership, or any member who is deemed inappropriate for direct service work, may serve the CACRT in a non-direct service capacity.

Team membership may be revoked or denied for breach of confidentiality, failure to follow CACRT policies/procedures, providing services without notification to the Outreach Coordinator, using one's membership on the team to enhance one's private practice or business, going to the scene with CACRT ID without authorization, failure to perform as signed interventions/trainings after having agreed to do so, failure to complete required after-action reports, consistent failure to attend CACRT meetings and education programs, and inability or unwillingness to maintain appropriate professional relationships.

Typical procedures forfielding a community crisis response team include:

Meeting Intervention Criteria:

Crises are natural, man-made or accidental incidents that evoke extraordinary emotion on the part of those involved and which overwhelm the ability of affected persons to cope at the scene or later. Assessing whether an incident warrants a formal CACRT intervention is one of the most critical jobs of the CACRT Outreach Coordinator, who makes the determination on a case-by-case basis, using the following lists of critical incidents and severity measures:

Critical Incidents:

• Homicides/Serial Killings
• Individual/Serial Rapes
• Assaults/Serial Assaults
• Natural Disasters (Severe Weather)
• Major Motor Vehicle Crashes/Accidents (Plane, Train, Car, Bus, Boat)
• Drownings
• Hostage-Taking
• Catastrophic Physical Injuries
• Arson
• Community Disturbances, Riots
• Suicide/Multiple Suicides
• Trauma of Elderly or Children
• Racial/Involvement of Underserved Groups

• Number of Injured, Dead
• Number Affected
• Number of Witnesses
• Media Attention
• Death of Child
• Death of Community Figure
• Intensity of Stress
• Gang Involvement
• Likelihood of Repeat
• Likelihood of Escalation
• Economic Impact
• Terror Factor
• Community History
• Preparation v. Surprise

Formation of a Community Response Team:

Once the decision has been made to mobilize, the CACRT Outreach Coordinator selects a Team Leader and together they assemble a Community Response Team. Team members have the following roles:

Team Leader:

• Meets with the local contact person(s) and the Team Manager for an orientation and briefing about the incident and to obtain information about work location, transportation, site access and related arrangements.
• Meets with community mental health professionals and other appropriate resources to assess short- and long-term needs.
• Organizes group crisis interventions.
• Performs individual and group crisis interventions and trainings, as needed.
• Represents the CACRT to the media, as needed.
• Assigns specific tasks to team members and reviews team member performance.
• Knows whereabouts of team members at all times.
• Maintains regular contact with the Outreach Coordinator.
• Develops follow-up plans and suggestions for local leaders, for review by the Outreach Coordinator.
• Debriefs team members.
• Evaluates the intervention in consultation with the full team, and submits a written report to the Outreach Coordinator.

Team Manager:

• Provides general administrative and logistical support to the Team Leader.
• Acts as special liaison with local groups and response team members.
• Collects relevant data for the incident file: location, extent of injuries and/or loss of life, identities of persons affected, including responders, degree of impact, service needs, local resources that are available and access to the affected area.
• Performs individual and group crisis interventions and trainings, as needed.
• Assists Team Leader as requested.

Trainers:

• Have demonstrated an ability to convey the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary for crisis intervention.
• During an intervention, conduct seminars, give lectures and provide individual support and guidance to mental health professionals, community leaders and others so that the local community can carry on the work of "emotional reconstruction."

Crisis Intervenors:

• Conduct group crisis intervention sessions (debriefings), as both a debriefing leader and as a support debriefer ("scribe"), using the NOVA debriefing model.
• Meet with survivors soon after a crisis occurs, preferably within 24-72 hours.
• Help victims understand that their feelings are understandable.
• Reduce victims' sense of isolation.
• Identify group and community resources.
• Receive support from others.

Community Response Team Activities:

On-site activities will be tailored to the specific needs of a community in the midst of a crisis. However, almost all events will call for planning, education, individual and group crisis intervention and follow up, to include, but not be limited to:

• Identifying at-risk victim populations and local caregivers.
• Predicting and preparing for short-, intermediate- and long-term emotional crisis reactions.
• Planning for future activities, such as memorial remembrances.
• Helping local leaders deal with media in sensational cases.
• Educating, recognizing and lending emotional support to local caregivers. Providing a minimum of 3 hours of refresher training in areas such as working with traumatized children and families, crisis reactions, and individual/group crisis intervention techniques.
• Leading individual and group crisis intervention sessions as needed. Remaining involved over the course of several days. Observing and recommending for further treatment individuals who exhibit severe reactions to crisis.
• Following up the intervention with thank you notes to all who helped with the intervention, performing outreach to victims/survivors who could not be reached on site, following up at three and six months and again on the event's anniversary. Attending community anniversary memorial events, if possible.