The Blaustein Foundation Funds Mental Health Diversion Pilot
The Morton K. and Jane Blaustein Foundation funds $150,000 pilot to pair Baltimore police officers with social workers on calls that involve people in the throes of a mental health crisis in an effort to calm situations that can easily move from tense to violent.
The goal is to improve relations with the public and reduce use of jails and emergency rooms for people who would be better served in treatment. New city police recruits have for years undergone some crisis intervention training, but a report last summer from the U.S. Department of Justice found that not all Baltimore officers have learned to de-escalate situations, and there is no policy requiring that a trained officer respond to calls for a person with mental health problems...