The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center, in collaboration with the Center for Policing Equity (CPE), is hosting a virtual learning community focused on infusing gender-responsive principles into community-based crisis response and violence intervention programs.

Law enforcement-led crisis models often fail to meet the unique needs of girls, cisgender women, transgender women, and non-binary people, sometimes escalating situations rooted in unaddressed trauma and unmet social or behavioral health needs. When compounded by structural barriers, these gaps can increase the risk of criminal justice involvement. Community-based crisis response and violence intervention programs are well-positioned to prevent unnecessary criminal justice system contact and support system navigation for these populations.

The learning community will be led by CSG Justice Center, a national nonprofit that provides data-driven solutions for complex justice challenges, and CPE, a leader in public safety redesign. It will include opportunities for mutual learning through peer-to-peer support and guidance from leading experts in the field. Throughout the learning community, participants will explore strategies for building effective partnerships and learn why it is essential for community-based response teams to integrate gender-responsive principles into their practices when working with these populations. Teams will complete a needs assessment and work with CSG Justice Center and CPE staff to better understand the needs of girls, cisgender women, transgender women, and non-binary people who are at risk of criminal justice involvement in their community. Sessions will cover key topics such as women’s pathways to justice involvement, trauma-informed approaches, cultivating essential partnerships, and more.

For the purposes of this application, community-based crisis response and violence intervention programs include:

Community responder programs that offer an additional option for first response. Composed of multidisciplinary professionals trained to address behavioral health and quality-of-life concerns, community responder programs provide a person-centered response to 911 and other emergency calls for service. Integrating community responder programs into first response systems ensures that all calls for service can receive the most appropriate response.

Community violence intervention and prevention initiatives (CVIPI) that use a public health approach to prevent and reduce violence by addressing its root causes and promoting long-term safety. These programs engage people at the highest risk of involvement in violence through strategies such as street outreach, hospital-based intervention and intensive case management. Led by credible messengers with deep community ties, CVIPI is grounded in evidence-based and trauma-informed practices that provide mentorship, mediation, behavioral health supports, and connections to essential services.
     
Session dates will occur on:
January 15, 2026
February 19, 2026
March 19, 2026
April 16, 2026
May 21, 2026

All sessions will take place 2:00–3:30 p.m. ET via Zoom.

Teams who are interested in participating should complete and submit this application by 11:59 p.m. ET on November 10, 2025. A CSG Justice Center staff member will follow up with applicants by November 18, 2025.

If you have any questions, contact Felicia Lopez Wright at fwright@csg.org.

This application should take approximately 10 minutes to complete.

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