Minnesota Child Response Initiative (MCRI)

Program Overview

 

The Minnesota Child Response Initiative (MCRI) is a groundbreaking Minneapolis-based program that brings together social service and public agencies to create successful approaches to break the cycle of violence and help heal the emotional wounds that violence inflicts on children, families and communities.

 

Together, mental health providers, domestic violence advocates, police, and child and family professionals have taken a broad approach to addressing the needs of victims and witnesses of violence of all types.

 

Objective 1: Systems and Community Work

MCRI’s first objective is to examine and address barriers to identifying and intervening with children exposed to violence. Projects include community needs assessments and the geomapping of resources and needs for children exposed to violence in Hennepin, suburban Ramsey and Washington counties.

 

Objective 2: Police-Clinician-Advocate Intervention

MCRI’s second objective is to provide direct acute intervention for children and families exposed to violence through a partnership with the police.

 

Initiated in April 2003, mental health professionals and advocates respond with Minneapolis police supervisors and report directly to the scene following an incident of family or community violence where children are present.  The MCRI team is called to the scene by first responders (patrol officers) who have secured the scene and concluded their investigations.   Since its inception the MCRI team has partnered with the Minneapolis Police Department in two ways: by providing a squad comprising a mental health clinician, advocate, and police supervisor (squad 1480), available to provide acute response and follow-up support to traumatized families2-3 nights per week; and through a 24-hour, 7-day a week on-call service, where clinicians and advocates are available to respond directly to the scene where families want emotional and concrete support in the immediate aftermath of traumatic incidents.

 

Between April 2003 and April 2005, MCRI responded to nearly 600 families.  Over 60 percent of these families had never received social services or counseling before, despite the fact that 80 percent had a history of prior 911 calls for domestic violence incidents.  

 

 

The MCRI intervention team responds to domestic violence cases - the vast majority of which are misdemeanor cases, as well as other cases in which children are traumatized by violence, including community violence and high-risk warrant cases.

 

In these cases, MCRI clinicians and advocate provide:

  1. Acute intervention, stabilization and advocacy for traumatized children and their caregivers,
  2. Information about the impact on children of exposure to violence, and
  3. Referrals for needed services and continuing follow-up with families in order to facilitate these referrals. 

 

Procedures for MCRI intervention

The Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) procedure with regard to the MCRI intervention team is as follows. The presence of clinicians and advocates on-scene is recorded in several ways:

  1. On a log indicating who responded to the scene with names of clinicians, advocates and officers.
  2. On the police report of the incident.
  3. When responding with officers, and further investigation is conducted, officers prepare a supplementary report with any pertinent details to report regarding the original incident or the visit. 

The clinicians and advocates who partner with MPD officers are licensed mental health professionals and experienced family violence professionals.  As clinical and advocacy professionals they do not conduct child interviews and are not involved with police or child protection investigations.

 

MPD policy developed by the MPD in partnership with the intervention team and partners dictates that the team does not respond to:

  1. Incidents of child abuse.
  2. Incidents where children may require a CornerHouse interview (as determined by MPD officers).

 

Objective 3: Research and evaluation

MCRI’s third objective is to conduct high-quality longitudinal research and evaluation that brings new knowledge to families, communities, and providers regarding the needs of children exposed to violence.

 

Key evaluation findings:

  • The majority of families served by the MCRI intervention have a history of prior 911 calls for domestic violence. 80 percent of families offered MCRI services for a domestic violence incident have a history of prior 911 calls for domestic violence.  Despite this,
  • Families are not receiving social services: Over 60 percent of families served by the intervention have never received social services or counseling for domestic violence.  The intervention thus provides a key opportunity for families to access needed services.
  • Few open CPS cases: Although many families are referred for child protection investigation, only 10% of families served by MCRI report that they have active, open CPS cases.
  • Families want immediate, rather than delayed response: Families offered the intervention were significantly more likely to engage with the team if the services were offered within 48 hours of a violent event, compared with 2-7 days later.

 

Further evaluation will focus on prosecution-related outcomes of the intervention, including Orders for Protection and cooperation with prosecution of those receiving program services.  Other research and evaluation projects pending or underway include a telephone survey of families who received intervention services and a research project that follows families after a 911 call for service for domestic violence in order to investigate predictors of recovery of mothers and children, and the behavior of abusers. 

 

§         MCRI Director

Abi Gewirtz, Ph.D., L.P. (612-624-1475)

     

*Tubman Family Alliance maintains fiscal and administrative responsibility for MCRI. Intervention team members are from the partner agencies listed above as well as professional volunteers in the community. Other staff supporting the work of MCRI can be reached at 612-825-3333 and include:

§         Dr. Mary Jo Avendano de Bealka, MCRI Clinical Supervisor

§         Katie Kernan, MCRI Program Administrator

 

 

Highlighted Achievements

 

The MCRI intervention was selected and showcased as one of ten promising programs at the University of Minnesota’s Presidential Children’s Summit in May 2003.

 

MCRI’s intervention was highlighted in the Report to the Governor by the State of MN’s Children’s Mental Health Subcommittee, as a model program that meets the mental health needs of children and families.  The report’s recommendations included replicating and disseminating the program in other jurisdictions across the state.

 

Police training:

·        In-depth ‘child development and trauma specialist training’.  This 18-hour curriculum was piloted in early 2004 with a group of 13 supervisory police officers. 

·        Patrol supervisor training includes a 4-hour curriculum addressing basic psychological needs of children according to age, and tools for officers to use with high-risk and traumatized youth.

·        In addition, 20 officers, clinicians and advocates participated in a 2003 training visit to 3 communities: Boston, MA; Chelsea, MA;  and New Haven, CT to overview other communities’ police partnership programs for children exposed to violence.

 

Clinician/advocate training:

·        Team members are participating in the Citizens’ Academy in order to learn more about police perspectives, policies and procedures.

·        Participation with the Police Community Relations Council, and the PCRC’s out-of-home placement subcommittee.

 

 

The overall goal of MCRI is to improve the safety and emotional health of children and their families struggling with family violence.  MCRI brings together community and governmental agencies to achieve that end to increase the level of cooperation among agencies, systems, and communities that share this goal.