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Showing posts from August, 2015

Police Crisis Intervention & The Illinois Model

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Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training has received a lot of attention lately, as it should. Police officers are too often tasked with picking up where a broken mental healthcare system left off. Law enforcement has been doing a less-than-stellar job with this function. It only makes sense that, if these mental health crises are going to be shoved off to the police as often as they are, our officers receive training and education in how to respond most effectively. Sadly, our police officers are not being trained properly. The current CIT model is not up-to-task. In this blog post, I’m going to make some suggestions to make the current CIT models even better. It involves a comprehensive approach using  The Illinois Model™ . What is CIT? Maybe you shouldn’t be reading this article if you don’t know exactly what the police Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) program is about. Regardless, let me give an extremely abbreviated (and crude) summary:

Leading in a Boutique Enterprise

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A  boutique   is much more than a small, quaint retail shop in a historic downtown district. It's a mindset.  I noticed the new coffee shop was open for business. Upon walking into  Cafe La Fortuna  in Chicago-Hinsdale, I immediately made a connection with owners Angela and   Alejandro Garcia . With genuine smiles and welcoming postures, they made me feel as though I was their most important customer. And moments later, I discovered the most delicious coffee I've ever tasted.  What Angela and Alejandro have created is magical. They've had a family-operated, environmentally-friendly coffee plantation in Chiapas for over 100 years.   They  know  coffee. They personally greet each and every customer with heartfelt appreciation. It doesn't take long for them to know the regulars' names and drink preferences. But beyond pleasantries, they ask questions that probe beneath the surface of small talk. They connect customers into meaningful conversation with each