Spotlight

Many law enforcement departments prioritize officers’ mental health through a variety of programming, such as embedding a clinician in the department, peer support and other wellness programs. One program stands as a paragon for providing anonymous mental health services to law enforcement officers: the Texas Blue Chip Program. Based on a similar program at the Arlington Police Department, the program was deployed in Allen, Texas as a response to a May 2023 mass shooting. Although initially serving the Dallas-Fort Worth and greater North Texas region, as of June 2024, the program is now statewide.

Texas Blue Chip provides free mental health resources to police officers across the state both in person and through telehealth services. Physical chips are given out at police departments, designed to reflect the longstanding law enforcement tradition of the challenge coin—a coin passed from one officer to another as recognition of something done well. Officers can pass the chips to others or use the chips themselves by scanning the QR code on the back—each chip is redeemable for one free session with a clinician. Reimbursement for the session, which is sent to the provider, does not include the officer’s name or any personally identifiable information, making participation in the program completely anonymous. This is perhaps the most promising aspect of the initiative—the fact that officers can receive mental health care from a trained professional completely outside of employee assistance programs, officer wellness initiatives and/or any other employer-connected programming. This is particularly important in a state like Texas, where 80 percent of the public safety workforce is located in small departments of 50 employees or less, which makes anonymity for mental health services challenging.

The program is a collaboration between Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute, which provides the clinicians, and the Texas Law Enforcement Peer Network (TLEPN), a statewide peer support initiative funded by state dollars. TLEPN provides support 24 hours a day, seven days a week through a helpline and app, through which officers can also access Blue Chip services. Funding for sessions with providers is supported through the Communities Foundation of Texas, particularly their Support for Allen Fund, which gathered donations in the wake of the mass shooting and earmarked them for officer support.

Key Takeaway: State Administering Agencies (SAAs) can consider funding opportunities for law enforcement mental health support that prioritize anonymity and care outside of officers’ employment, which will encourage more officers to utilize services.

New From the NCJA Center for Justice Planning

The NCJA Center for Justice Planning is excited to release Guidance Series: Meaningful Community Engagement in Public Safety Funding. The report, the result of the NCJA Equity in Public Safety Funding and Budgeting Committee, includes five chapters of guidance on how to be more equitable and community-focused when making funding decisions on public safety initiatives. Relying on input from both community and system partners, the guidance details how to best engage the community and system partners, when to engage the community at key decision points, the importance of language in engagement and how to make evaluation more accessible and equitable.

In Case You Missed It

Learn about Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia's innovative gun violence prevention programming in the latest promising practice brief.

Discover trust-based relational intervention (TBRI) in episode 36 of the NCJA Podcast and hear how two Texas-based practitioners have implemented and learned from the model.

Staff Recommends

Curious to learn more about hospital-based violence intervention programs (HVIPs) and how they work? Demaxia recommends watching this informational video about trauma-centered comprehensive HVIPs.

Anica recommends reading a recent landscape analysis conducted by the Joyce Foundation, which highlights states who have made gun violence prevention efforts an ongoing function of government through a state office of gun violence prevention. 

Social Media For SAAs

Struggling to fill your social media feeds with content? Consider posting about the following items:

Raise awareness for World Suicide Prevention Day September 10 or highlight National Suicide Prevention Week September 8-14. Additionally, consider posting about 988 day on September 8, a national initiative dedicated to raising awareness for the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month September 15-October 15.

Observe National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month in September.

Commemorate the National Day of Remembrance for Murder Victims on September 25.

News from Our Partners

The Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions released a comprehensive model policy guide, which includes recommendations and guidance to assist policymakers in drafting Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) laws. If you are an ERPO state, consider browsing the guide and recommendations, both drafted by leading experts. 

The National Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) Resource Center has released an application for Community of Practice (CoP), which is due by September 15. This CoP will bring together implementers, particularly Byrne SCIP grantees, including law enforcement, prosecutors, attorneys, judges, clinicians, and representatives from victim services agencies, community organizations, and behavioral health and social services providers in jurisdictions with ERPOs to share implementation approaches, respond to challenges, and identify and develop resources, including peer-to-peer learning.