Each lasting approximately one hour). Across the outreach focus groups, workers held a range of specific roles. One group BRDU biological activity consisted of workers at the supervisory level while representatives from the other three groups provide direct engagement services on the front-line level. Each participant was1One worker participated in two different groups. Int J Law Psychiatry. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2015 September 01.NIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author ManuscriptWood and BeierschmittPageasked to briefly list their role on a piece of paper. These roles center on engaging and providing assistance to people experiencing homelessness and/or mental health and/or substance use issues. Some workers assist more broadly in case management by helping consumers navigate the system of services including benefits, medical appointments and housing. Participants’ years of experience in their current or related role range from six months to twenty-seven years. In two of the groups, a representative (two different individuals respectively) from DBHIDS sat in on the focus groups, mainly to clarify any questions about the purpose of the groups and to help convey the spirit of the research partnership. A total of twenty-two different police officers working in the Center City area participated in three focus groups (each lasting approximately an hour). Almost all of the officers serve as foot or bicycle patrol officers, which affords them the opportunity to develop an extensive local knowledge of Center City (see Wood, Sorg, Groff, Ratcliffe Taylor, 2013, on the significance of local knowledge). Ten officers were CIT trained, while seven officers had Mental Health First Aid training (although five of these already had CIT training). Years of experience among the officers ranged from nine to twenty-six years (including different assignments or parts of the city). In all three of these groups, one to two co-researchers from the City of Philadelphia sat in on the focus groups due to their familiarity with the area and its stakeholders. Occasionally they participated in the groups by asking questions or reflecting on a response by an officer. In addition to the focus groups, five individual research interviews (lasting approximately one hour each) were conducted with key informants from the Philadelphia Police Department, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority Police Department, the Mental Health Association of Southeastern Pennsylvania, and Center City District. These were conducted to supplement our focus groups as well as our documentary review of service delivery arrangements in Philadelphia. These respondents were also asked to comment on needed areas of reform. 2.1.2. Qualitative analysis–Written notes from BRDU custom synthesis twenty-three conversations (lasting approximately one hour each) with different partners and stakeholders were uploaded into Atlas.ti, a qualitative software analysis program. The number of people involved in these different conversations varied, ranging from one person to several people from one or more organizations. These conversations were treated as a separate data unit (or “framing data”) containing language and concepts that helped with the coding and analysis of the focus groups and interviews. The focus groups and interviews were audio recorded with the signed permission of participants and transcribed by a member of the academic research team. These data were also entered into Altas.ti as a s.Each lasting approximately one hour). Across the outreach focus groups, workers held a range of specific roles. One group consisted of workers at the supervisory level while representatives from the other three groups provide direct engagement services on the front-line level. Each participant was1One worker participated in two different groups. Int J Law Psychiatry. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2015 September 01.NIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author ManuscriptWood and BeierschmittPageasked to briefly list their role on a piece of paper. These roles center on engaging and providing assistance to people experiencing homelessness and/or mental health and/or substance use issues. Some workers assist more broadly in case management by helping consumers navigate the system of services including benefits, medical appointments and housing. Participants’ years of experience in their current or related role range from six months to twenty-seven years. In two of the groups, a representative (two different individuals respectively) from DBHIDS sat in on the focus groups, mainly to clarify any questions about the purpose of the groups and to help convey the spirit of the research partnership. A total of twenty-two different police officers working in the Center City area participated in three focus groups (each lasting approximately an hour). Almost all of the officers serve as foot or bicycle patrol officers, which affords them the opportunity to develop an extensive local knowledge of Center City (see Wood, Sorg, Groff, Ratcliffe Taylor, 2013, on the significance of local knowledge). Ten officers were CIT trained, while seven officers had Mental Health First Aid training (although five of these already had CIT training). Years of experience among the officers ranged from nine to twenty-six years (including different assignments or parts of the city). In all three of these groups, one to two co-researchers from the City of Philadelphia sat in on the focus groups due to their familiarity with the area and its stakeholders. Occasionally they participated in the groups by asking questions or reflecting on a response by an officer. In addition to the focus groups, five individual research interviews (lasting approximately one hour each) were conducted with key informants from the Philadelphia Police Department, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority Police Department, the Mental Health Association of Southeastern Pennsylvania, and Center City District. These were conducted to supplement our focus groups as well as our documentary review of service delivery arrangements in Philadelphia. These respondents were also asked to comment on needed areas of reform. 2.1.2. Qualitative analysis–Written notes from twenty-three conversations (lasting approximately one hour each) with different partners and stakeholders were uploaded into Atlas.ti, a qualitative software analysis program. The number of people involved in these different conversations varied, ranging from one person to several people from one or more organizations. These conversations were treated as a separate data unit (or “framing data”) containing language and concepts that helped with the coding and analysis of the focus groups and interviews. The focus groups and interviews were audio recorded with the signed permission of participants and transcribed by a member of the academic research team. These data were also entered into Altas.ti as a s.
