2021
Miami County Sheriff Dave Duchak

Tri-County Board Executive Director Terri Becker presents the 2021 Geraldine B. Nelson Advocacy Award plaque to Miami County Sheriff Dave Duchak.

​First as Chief Deputy under the previous Sheriff of Miami County, and now as Sheriff in his own right, Dave Duchak has been and continues to be an exemplary Crisis Intervention Team leader. Under Sheriff Duchak’s leadership, more than 90 road deputies and corrections officers have completed the Tri-County Crisis Intervention Team Academy since its inception in 2006, accounting for 1 in 4 CIT Academy graduates in the Tri-County Board area.
 
But Sheriff Duchak’s embrace of the principles of CIT go far beyond the Academy. In late 2020, after a spike in the number of suicide attempts in the jail, Sheriff Duchak reached out to Tri-County Board Executive Director Terri Becker seeking a solution. Together they approached the Board’s contracted mental health provider in the county, Recovery and Wellness Centers of Midwest Ohio, to devise a solution. RWC was able to identify a crisis counselor who could be embedded at the jail for faster response and better monitoring of incarcerated individuals.
 
In the aftermath of those attempts, Sheriff Duchak reached out to the Tri-County Crisis Response Team to provide post-incident debriefings for his jail staff. Sheriff Duchak supports his staff through other mental health related training such as QPR - Question, Persuade, Refer suicide prevention training.
 
Sheriff Duchak is a leader in prevention as well. Sheriff Duchak contracted with Robertson Brain Health, a Michigan-based not-for-profit arm of a brain research and performance optimization organization, to bring a program called Protect the Protectors to Miami County.
 
In recognition of his support for the Tri-County Crisis Intervention Team Academy; his embodiment of the core tenants of CIT as a team comprising law enforcement, courts, behavioral health, and other support services; and for his efforts to support the mental wellness of his road officers, corrections officers, administrators and support staff, the Tri-County Board of Recovery and Mental Health Services recognizes this year’s winner of the Geraldine B. Nelson Advocacy Award, for supportive measures on behalf of another, by promoting the recognition of consumer rights and encouraging positive change in the realm of mental health and addictions issues, presented this day, November 17, 2021, to Miami County Sheriff Dave Duchak.