Exploring the Needs and Lived Experiences of Racial and Ethnic Minority Domestic Violence Survivors Through Community-Based Participatory Research: A Systematic Review.

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) is a methodological approach where community-academic teams build equitable relationships throughout the research process. In the domestic violence (DV) field, CBPR may be particularly important when conducting research with racial and ethnic minority DV survivors, as this group faces concurrent oppressions that inform their lived experiences. To our knowledge, no systematic review has synthesized articles using a CBPR approach to explore the needs and lived experiences of racial and ethnic minority DV survivors. Using PRISMA guidelines, we conducted a systematic review of the literature, retrieving articles that used a CBPR approach to understand the needs and/or lived experiences of female racial and ethnic minority DV survivors residing in the United States. Articles were identified from peer-reviewed databases, bibliographies, and experts. Thirteen of the 185 articles assessed for eligibility were included. Articles focused on a variety of racial and ethnic minority groups, the majority identifying as African American or Latina. Collaboration occurred in multiple ways, primarily through equitable decision-making and building team members' strengths. Several needs and lived experiences emerged including gender identity and patriarchal attitudes, racism and discrimination, the immigrant experience informing DV, poverty, shame and stigma, and the need for social support. This is the first systematic review of articles using a CBPR approach to explore the needs and lived experiences of racial and ethnic minority survivors. Implications include promoting community-based dissemination, conducting quantitative studies with larger sample sizes of DV survivors, and encouraging culturally specific services that address DV survivors' intersectional needs.

The "Gray Zone" of Police Work During Mental Health Encounters: Findings from an Observational Study in Chicago.

Although improving police responses to mental health crises has received significant policy attention, most encounters between police and persons with mental illnesses do not involve major crimes or violence, nor do they rise to the level of requiring emergency apprehension. Here, we report on field observations of police officers handling mental health-related encounters in Chicago. Findings confirm that these encounters often occur in the "gray zone", where the problems at hand do not call for formal or legalistic interventions including arrest and emergency apprehension. In examining how police resolved such situations, we observed three core features of police work: (1) accepting temporary solutions to chronic vulnerability; (2) using local knowledge to guide decision-making; and (3) negotiating peace with complainants and call subjects. Study findings imply the need to advance field-based studies using systematic social observations of gray zone decision-making within and across distinct geographic and place-based contexts. Policy implications for supporting police interventions, including place-based enhancements of gray zone resources, are also discussed.

The Crisis Intervention Team Model of Police Response to Mental Health Crises: A Primer for Mental Health Practitioners.

As persons with mental illnesses and law enforcement become increasingly entangled, the collaboration of police and mental health service providers has become critical to appropriately serving the needs of individuals experiencing mental health crises. This article introduces the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) Model as a collaborative approach to safely and effectively address the needs of persons with mental illnesses, link them to appropriate services, and divert them from the criminal justice system if appropriate. We discuss the key elements of the CIT model, implementation and its related challenges, as well as variations of the model. While this model has not undergone enough research to be deemed an Evidence-Based Practice, it has been successfully utilized in many law enforcement agencies worldwide and is considered a "Best Practice" model in law enforcement. This primer for mental health practitioners serves as an introduction to a model that may already be utilized in their community or serve as a springboard for the development CIT programs where they do not currently exist.