Crisis Intervention Teams Center of Excellence
Mission
We will seek to develop and maintain partnerships with Oregon criminal justice and behavioral health agencies, organizations and service providers in order to develop and maintain a network of criminal justice and behavioral health professionals, behavioral health advocates, and consumers to promote excellence in law enforcement behavioral health training throughout Oregon.
Vision
The Department of Public Safety Standards and Training (DPSST) – Center for Policing Excellence (CPE) and The Oregon Center for Behavioral Health and Justice Integration (OCBHJI) are jointly committed to promoting the development of criminal justice behavioral health training programs, such as Crisis Intervention Teams and other specialized police response models, throughout Oregon. The objective of this partnership is to assist criminal justice and behavioral health agencies in providing a more effective and compassionate response to people experiencing a behavioral health crisis. The joint effort shall be known as the CIT Center of Excellence (CITCOE).
CIT Works
Research has demonstrated that CIT trained officers demonstrate more knowledge about mental health than non CIT trained officers. Additionally, CIT trained officers are more likely to make a mental health referral and less likely to make an arrest than non CIT trained officers.
CIT trained officers who volunteered for the training do better on all these measures than those who were assigned to training, which highlights an important tenet of the Memphis Model to train officers who have volunteered. However, CIT trained officers who were assigned to training do better on all of the measure than those who haven’t been trained in CIT (https://mhttcnetwork.org/centers/southeast-mhttc/problem-criminalization-serious-mental-illness-part-2).
MEET THE TEAM
Julie Collinson
Behavioral Health Program Coordinator
Julie is a Licensed Professional Counselor and a Nationally Certified Counselor, having completed her Master’s degree in Professional Mental Health Counseling and Addictions Studies at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon, and Bachelor’s of Science degree in Exercise and Sports Science, and a minor in Psychology from Oregon State University. Julie has worked in the public safety sector for over 16 years. Julie joined the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office in 2006, responsible for creating specialized training programs in the areas of child abuse, sexual abuse, domestic violence, and search and rescue, and in 2014, she became the CIT Coordinator for Clackamas County. In her tenure at CCSO, Julie provided training for over 10,000 multi-disciplinary professionals in the state and around the U.S. In 2018, Julie began working for the Oregon Department of Corrections Correctional Services, creating programs and educational curriculum, and providing support services for children and families of adults in custody. Then, in 2020, Julie joined DPSST as a part-time Behavioral Health instructor. Prior to joining DPSST, Julie was a therapist in a non-profit residential facility providing therapeutic services for adjudicated youth offenders, in partnership with the Oregon Youth Authority. Julie also has a private practice specializing working with first responders and military professionals who have experienced trauma. In March of 2021, Julie joined DPSST’s Center for Policing Excellence as one of two Behavioral Health Program Coordinators.
Julie is passionate about serving her community, and providing opportunities for youth through sports, and is an active board member for basketball, lacrosse and football in her community. When you don’t find her on field or court cheering on her teenage sons, she is found enjoying her other passions, training her rescue horses, or camping with her family and friends throughout the state.
Ridg Medford
Behavioral Health and Justice Specialist
Ridg served as a certified police officer for over 16 years. He served his entire law enforcement career with the Ontario Police Department and held his advanced police certification through the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training (DPSST). During his time with the Police Department, he served in many roles, including school resource officer, motor officer, and detective. He has also served as the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) coordinator for Malheur County. He is a mental health first aid instructor, a trauma informed care instructor, a qualified sequential intercept model mapping workshop facilitator, a certified crisis intervention team coordinator, a juvenile fire-setter intervention specialist, and a nationally certified anger management specialist. Ridg is passionate about teaching and has taught crisis intervention and officer wellness topics at local, regional, and international levels. He is an acting board member of Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) International, serving as 1st Vice President. He also serves on the national advisory board for the Virginia Center for Policing Innovation (VCPI) CIT ASSIST program.
Ridg is very community driven and serves or has served on several boards, including being the chairperson of the board for the Housing Authority of Malheur and Harney Counties. Ridg is a passionate outdoorsman and can often be found in the mountains with his family and friends.
Jo Pedro-Frye
Behavioral Health and Justice Specialist
Jo has worked in mental health since 2016 serving a vast range of clientele including children and families, severely persistent mentally ill, individuals experiencing mental health crisis, and those involved in the criminal justice system. Jo has an MS in psychology, BS in psychology, and a post graduate certification in Applied Behavior Analysis. In her time working in community mental health Jo has become a Certified Drug and Alcohol Counselor 1, a Mental Health Investigator, a Registered Behavior Interventionist, and a Qualified Mental Health Professional. Jo is certified in Eye Movement Desensitization And Reprocessing (EMDR), Moral Reconation Therapy (MRT), Motivational Interviewing, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), as well as a Mental Health First Aid trainer.
Jo is very community focused and puts great effort into collaborating with community partners. This has been a focus particularly when implementing her local jail diversion program as well as working on the mobile crisis team. Jo looks forward to sharing her passion for helping others throughout her work with the OCBHJI team.
Kim Miller
Behavioral Health and Justice Specialist
Kim has been working in the Substance Use Disorder treatment field since 2006, primarily working with individuals involved in specialty court programs. Kim has worked in community mental health programs and at community corrections.
Kim has a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Eastern Oregon University and is also a Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor II. Kim has extensive group facilitation experience, and is trained and/or certified in Moral Reconation Therapy (MRT), Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Motivational Interviewing, and also in trauma-informed approaches to women’s treatment.
During the 15 years Kim was involved with the Union County Treatment Court team, she established many long-term collaborative relationships with community partners. Kim has also recently joined the Union County Behavioral Health team in her official OCBHJI capacity. Kim prioritizes collaboration within communities, in order to provide the most effective interventions for individuals facing challenging circumstances. Kim is excited to join the OCBHJI team to be able to work collaboratively with other counties throughout the state.
In her spare time, Kim enjoys appreciating the natural beauty of Eastern Oregon by camping, hiking, and swimming with her family.
