The Virginia Crisis Intervention Team Coalition (VACIT) is an unincorporated membership organization whose primary purpose is to facilitate understanding, development, and implementation of Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) programs based on the Essential Elements of Virginia CIT throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia. Our purpose is to promote and support collaborative efforts to create and sustain more effective interactions among law enforcement, behavioral health care providers, individuals with mental illness, their families and communities, and to reduce stigma related to mental illness. The VACIT works to accomplish this purpose by:

• Raising public and stakeholder awareness through education and outreach;
• Establishing and disseminating recommended standards for developing, implementing and sustaining CIT programs based on the Essential Elements of Virginia CIT programs;
• Providing assistance to communities interested in developing CIT programs;
• Supporting research and evaluation of CIT programs;
• Partnering with CIT programs across the Commonwealth to conduct the annual VACIT conference.