VACIT Members,
You are invited to join the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) Community on DHS First Responder Communities of Practice.  As you know, Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) Programs are joint Law Enforcement, Mental Health and other First Responder collaborative programs. This community is for information sharing regarding all aspects of implementation and operation of inter-agency CIT programs.
You will also receive an automated email from DHS First Responder Communities of Practice with a link to request an account.
First Responder Communities of Practice, established by the Department of Homeland Security's Science and Technology Directorate (DHS S&T), is the country's premiere online collaboration platform for the public safety and homeland security community. Members use the Website, located at https://Communities.FirstResponder.gov, to discuss emergency preparedness, response, recovery, and other homeland security issues across disciplines, jurisdictions, agencies, and sectors. For more information, please see attached one pager and "Top Ten Reasons to Join DHS First Responder Communities of Practice."
The First Responder Communities of Practice team vets all new users to ensure the authenticity of members and to keep the focus of the site on homeland security, emergency preparedness, response and recovery. When requesting an account, please include the contact information listed below. If you would like to provide a different sponsor, please note that sponsors must be government employees.

Name: James Spurgeon
Agency: Blue Ridge Crisis Intervention Team Coordinator
Location: Staunton Virginia
Phone: 540.213.7529
Email: jspurg...@vcsb.org<mailto:jspurg...@vcsb.org>

What Can You Do on First Responder Communities of Practice?

 *   Join and create Communities that interest you<https://communities.firstresponder.gov/web/guest/communities>
 *   Collaborate on wikis, blogs and discussion boards
 *   Find, share and store documents and best practices
 *   Create and search profiles
 *   Connect, chat, and email with other professionals
Who Can Join?

 *   First responders
 *   Public health and medical professionals
 *   Members of the following groups, if engaged in homeland security:
    *   Government employees and government-sponsored contractors
    *   Academic professionals and students
    *   Employees of nongovernmental organizations
    *   Government-sponsored volunteers
Other Communities include (for a full list, please visit www.Communities.FirstResponder.Gov<http://www.Communities.FirstResponder.Gov>)
The Law Enforcement Community: Open Community of Practice to post Open Source Law Enforcement related information and encourage collaboration using threaded discussions, wikis, and blogs.

The Make America Safer through Social Media Community:  This community is a national community and resource for practitioners from all levels of organizations and agencies across the country to discuss and collaborate on best practices and address issues relating to using social media and other web technologies to aid emergency preparedness and response activities to ensure the right tools and resources are used to fit your needs.

The Type III All Hazards Incident Management Team (AHIMT) Community:  A designated team of trained personnel representing multi-agencies, multi-jurisdictions, and multi-disciplines for extended incidents, Type III All Hazard Incident Management Teams (AHIMT) are formed and managed at the State, regional, metropolitan level, or DHS Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) region. This community is for existing members and those interested in joining Type III AHIMTs to coordinate, collaborate, discuss, and share resources and information in support of planning, training, and overall preparedness in the event of AHIMT Deployment.

Website Demonstrations Available
The First Responder Communities of Practice team provides demonstrations for groups on how to effectively use the site's many features.  The team recently demonstrated the Communities of Practice Website to 32 practitioners from across the country involved in the Virtual USA program, explaining how to use the site's online collaboration and networking features.  Virtual USA is an innovative information-sharing system that helps local, state, tribal, and federal first responders work with all levels of government.  To schedule a Website demonstration like this, e-mail RT...@DHS.gov<mailto:RT...@DHS.gov>.
About Us
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate's (S&T) First Responder Technologies (R-Tech) program works to protect America against terrorism and disasters by providing first responder solutions for high-priority capability gaps through rapid prototyping, technical assistance, and information sharing to save lives and maximize preparedness.

Top 10 Reasons to Join DHS First Responder Communities of Practice.pdf 369K Download

FRCOP Fact Sheet August 2011.pdf 126K Download