KCCRT Team Membership

Kentucky Community Crisis Response Team Providing Critical Incident Stress Management to First Responders and Communities

The Kentucky Community Crisis Response Team members have two primary roles.

1. KCCRT members stand ready to deploy to the field, upon request, to provide peer support and critical incident stress management after a critical incident and/or traumatic event occurs and a KCCRT response is requested. Deployments are coordinated through KCCRT staff and/or regional team coordinators.

2. KCCRT members stand ready to deploy after large-scale disasters to provide psychological first aid to disaster survivors. KCCRT can be activated by a Governor’s Disaster Declaration and will provide behavioral health support in a variety of settings to the impacted community/area.

The Kentucky Community Crisis Response Team (KCCRT) utilizes a peer support approach, which requires that you have experience in a relevant field you are supporting, or you are an experienced chaplain and/or behavioral health professional.

Join KCCRT

To apply for a KCCRT Team Membership, please complete the application below.

Apply For KCCRT Membership

Questions? Email kccrt@ky.gov

Team Membership FAQs

What do KCCRT Members do?

All KCCRT members volunteer to be on-call to provide peer support in the aftermath of a traumatic event or Psychological First Aid to impacted individuals after a disaster. When activated, KCCRT volunteers are deployed in teams to provide individual and group support to emergency service personnel, schools, hospitals, or other community organizations.

What type of traumatic events could you respond to?

Examples of traumatic events that result in emergency services requesting KCCRT include: Line of duty deaths, multi-casualty incidents, use of deadly force, suicide of a first responder, events involving children, and prolonged incidents. Example of events that prompt schools and community organizations to contact KCCRT include: Serious accidents, death, violence, public health incident, infrastructure failure, and terrorism.

What will be my responsibility if I am contacted about a response?

Critical incidents and disasters happen unexpectedly, often without warning. It will be your responsibility, as a KCCRT member, to respond to availability requests as soon as you are able. KCCRB does not require you attend all responses for which you are contacted, but we do require that you contact us back if we have left you a message, text, or email about a response in your area.

What is the time commitment?

The majority of the time commitment for KCCRT volunteers consists of the initial training and the ongoing team meetings.

1 - Your initial training totals 6 hours of online education and four (4) days of classroom training. During the four-day training you will receive Assisting Individuals in Crisis, Group Crisis Intervention, KCCRB Orientation, and other specialized training as needed.

2 - Team meetings are held 3 times a year in your region. Once a year KCCRB holds a training where all regions get together and practice their skills. This event is called the Annual Team Training.

In the event of a large-scale disaster the service you provide is being a credential volunteer with the state who is prepared to respond. When a disaster occurs you will be notified and requested to share your availability for 8-12 hour shifts in the days and weeks after a catastrophic event.

Going on responses with KCCRT will vary greatly depending on your discipline, your assigned region, the amount of requests we receive, and your availability. Often peer support responses are 2-4 hours, and notification of responses can be 2 to 24 hours ahead of time depending on the event.

As a KCCRT volunteer, would I be on call for the whole state?

Potentially, yes. We would assume that KCCRT members in disaster affected areas would be busy responding to their own needs, therefore requiring KCCRT members from unaffected parts of the state to respond. However, as a volunteer KCCRT member you have the option to decline the request if you prefer to not travel outside of your region. KCCRT members that travel for a response can have mileage reimbursed at the state rate for any response activities with a completed travel voucher.

Does it cost anything to join KCCRT?

All training for KCCRT volunteers is free. The only cost to consider would be your transportation to trainings and quarterly regional team meetings.

What do I need to do to join the team?

All KCCRT volunteers must be at least 18 years old and have at least 5 years of professional or volunteer experience in an approved discipline.

Anyone interested in becoming a member of the KCCRT must complete the KCCRT Membership Application and the two (2) required online trainings.

Applicants must submit to a Kentucky State Police Felony Background Check, a professional reference check, and an interview. Once the application process has been completed the Membership Committee will make a recommendation to the Executive Director, who has the final approval.

What are the trainings for KCCRT?

All KCCRT members are required to have the following training courses:

1. FEMA's ICS-100.C: Introduction to the Incident Command System (2 hours, online)

2. FEMA's IS-700.B: An Introduction to the National Incident Management System (3.5 hours, online)

3. ICISF's Assisting Individuals in Crisis or Pastoral Crisis Intervention (2 days, classroom)

4. ICISF's Group Crisis Intervention (2 days, classroom)

KCCRT members should also complete the following training courses within one (1) of becoming a member.

Kentucky Community Crisis Response Board Orientation - CR100 (1 hour, online)

KCCRT Membership Roles and Responsbilities - CR101 (1 hour, online)

What is Psychological First Aid?

Psychological First Aid (PFA) is a conversation that provides education about stress reactions after devastating events and refocuses people toward personal resiliency. It is not counseling. It is an empirically supported intervention which helps people focus their attention on self-care and practical problem solving, rather than emotionality or despair.

The skills of PFA are learned in the CISM training required for membership. You also have the option of taking PFA specific training for your personal development.

1. Psychological First Aid (PFA) Online (6-hour online interactive course provided by the NCTSN Learning Center; registration is required)

2. Psychological First Aid-II (4-hour, classroom; check the KCCRB Training page for course dates)

3. SAFER-R Model Intervention - CR102 (1-hour, online; PFA-II Online Review)

Do you accept ICISF classes taught by a different instructor or out of state?

Yes, if you took ICSIF’s Assisting Individuals in Crisis, Pastoral Crisis Intervention, or Group Crisis Intervention with a different approved instructor we would accept that training towards your Level 2 application. If the training was five (5) or more years prior, we would request that you re-take the trainings.

What is the cost of the trainings?

All training required is free to KCCRT members. Non-members must pay for KCCRB courses. All 2 day courses are $150.00 and 3 day combo courses are $250 per person. However, if you are an authorized representative of an agency, organization, or business in Kentucky and you would like to train 10 or more of your staff (volunteer or professional), please contact KCCRB for special pricing.

Where can I find a copy of the All Hazards Field Manual?

Here is a link to the All Hazards Field Manual.

Who do I contact if I have more questions about becoming a volunteer member of the KCCRT?

Contact the KCCRT via email at kccrt@ky.gov

Join KCCRT

Team Membership FAQs​

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Team Membership FAQs