Mission Statement
To promote resilience in all citizens of the Commonwealth following a disaster or critical incident through pre-incident preparedness training and post–incident reduction of disabling stress by recruiting, training, and maintaining a statewide credentialed team of regional response ready volunteers to provide critical incident stress management.
Vision: KCCRT will be an extensively recognized community resource that provides crisis intervention services and will be fully integrated into emergency response plans developed for the Commonwealth.
Services Offered
Our services and responses are twofold:
- Kentucky Community Crisis Response Team (KCCRT) is activated by a Governor’s Disaster Declaration in the case of natural or manmade disasters to provide psychological first aid.
- KCCRT provides Rapid Assessment & Response Teams deployed on request to mitigate stress reactions to critical incidents and traumatic events.
KCCRT's History
In response to several disasters of major proportion in Kentucky in the late 1980s, the Kentucky Department for Mental Health and Mental Retardation Services (DMHMRS) called a meeting of representatives from all key responding agencies in cases of crisis and disaster. The development of the Kentucky Post-Trauma Response Team (PTRT) was initiated in September 1990. The team's primary purpose was to mitigate the impact of crisis and disaster by providing support (via defusing, debriefing, training, consultation, etc.) to communities and emergency responders whose lives are impacted by the effects of trauma. In fiscal year 1994, DMHMRS, in conjunction with Bluegrass Regional Mental Health Mental Retardation Boards, Inc., employed a full-time staff person to work with the board of the Kentucky Community Crisis Response Team (KCCRT), formerly known as the PTRT.
The 1996 General Assembly, through the passage of Senate Bill 112, established the Kentucky Community Crisis Response Board (KCCRB) as a separate administrative body of state government. Governor appointed the members of the Board in July 1996.
April 1, 1997
The office of the Kentucky Community Crisis Response Board opened in the midst of responding to Flood of 1997. 90 of 120 Counties were impacted.
The 1998 General Assembly, through the passage of House Bill 356, transferred the Office of the Kentucky Community Crisis Response to the Department of Military Affairs and attached it directly under the Adjutant General to provide administrative services for the KCCRB. Spring 1998 Survey of School Plans - KCCRB and Kentucky Department of Education (KDE), surveyed all Kentucky school districts’ plans for crisis response and recovery. Outcomes of the survey fostered ongoing collaboration among KCCRB, KDE and Kentucky’s Center for School Safety (CSS).
In January of 2000 a task force was forged among: KCCRB, KDE, CSS, Kentucky State Police, KY Department of Emergency Management and Local school district representatives. Out of the task force rose the development of School Centered Emergency Management and Recovery Guide to assist local school districts in reviewing their plans, training school personnel and forging partnerships in preparedness, management, and the promotion of recovery.
2001-2002
The “School-Centered Emergency Management & Recovery Guide” developed and distributed to school systems statewide. KCCRB trained over eighty GRREC School Personnel, some of whom became part of first statewide Recognized School Team in Kentucky.
October 2001
There was the development of the Law Enforcement Peer Team and Law Enforcement Family Support Teams. In 2001, KCCRB funded by CDC/Department for Public Health for Psychological response readiness for first responders & public health and local workforce awareness training in psychological impact of terrorism and disasters.
2006-2007
Established a working relationship with all behavioral health centers around the state planning to deliver outreach disaster behavioral health services in order to: Insure statewide coordination of local/regional disaster behavioral health assets and provide pre-incident planning prior to a disaster.
2022
The 2023 General Assembly, through the passage of House Bill 226, transferred the Office of the Kentucky Community Crisis Response to the discretion of the Department for Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual Identities and officially dissolved the Kentucky Community Crisis Response Board to become the Kentucky Community Crisis Response Team.
Regulations
House Bill 226
KRS 194A.385
KRS 194A.387
Peer Support Counseling (KRS 65.1591)
Rule 506 Counselor-client privilege