This posting is to serve as a reminder that, in the event of a terrorist attack your Regional Team Leader or his/her designee may activate you for deployment.  If you do not receive a telephone call in the early hours after a major incident, please consult the CTRP website (www.ctrp.org) for activation/deployment instructions that may be posted there.  We are currently working to develop other, redundant mechanisms to communicate with you in the event of a critical incident that may disrupt normal communication channels and we will inform you as soon as these systems are put in place.

Also be reminded that if you are seeking behavioral health information related to terrorism, the "Educational Materials"  section of the CTRP website contains links to a range of resources on the topic.

In order to be better prepared for activation, you may wish to discuss the possibility of your deployment with family/significant others in advance of such action.  Please be reminded that your participation as a team member is voluntary and highly valued.

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~ CTRP Tested Preparedness during "TOPOFF 3"
~ Team Members joined in this International Counterterrorism Exercise

During the week of April 4th, 2005, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security conducted the Top Officials "TOPOFF 3" full-scale, international counterterrorism exercise involving the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada. As the name implies, top officials from all levels of government ~ national, state and local ~ participated. The TOPOFF 3 scenario depicted terrorist events originating in New London, Connecticut and Union and Middlesex Counties in New Jersey leading to National and International Response. It was designed to strengthen the nation's capacity to prevent, prepare for, respond to and recover from large-scale terrorist attacks.

For the past several months, Connecticut leaders (including DMHAS and DCF leadership) were working to prepare for the state's role in TOPOFF 3. As part of the exercise, Connecticut tested its behavioral health response to terrorism. The involvement of the DMHAS/DCF /CTRP Behavioral Health Crisis Response Teams added a new and important component to TOPOFF 3 ~ behavioral health.  In the two prior TOPOFF exercises (conducted respectively in 2000 and 2003) a combined 15,000 people participated but the behavioral health response was not tested in either! Thus Connecticut was breaking new ground by testing the readiness of our behavioral health professionals to respond to the needs of our citizens!  

More information related to the success of TOPOFF 3 will be posted as it becomes available.