CNM and City of Albuquerque Launch Annual ACS Academy to Train Alternative First Responders

CNM Ingenuity and The City of Albuquerque, are partnering to strengthen and expand the Albuquerque Community Safety (ACS) Academy. For the past four years, ACS has operated its own training academy, preparing responders to answer 911 calls related to behavioral health, substance use, homelessness, and other nonviolent crises. This new partnership with CNM will bring accreditation, add capacity, and create opportunities for other organizations to learn from ACS’s nationally recognized model of alternative response.

This groundbreaking partnership builds on CNM’s long-standing commitment to workforce development and the City’s investment in innovative public safety strategies. The overall effort will also create a stronger public safety workforce within Albuquerque and New Mexico, training individuals on a variety of skills to be utilized throughout an entire career. Trainees will also be drawn from both local workforce and nationwide, as cities across the country look to Albuquerque to see how we are leading the way in reimagining public safety.

“This new academy will be a game-changer for our city,” said Mayor Tim Keller. “By training alternative responders with the same rigor as traditional first responders, we’re making Albuquerque a national leader in creating safer, healthier communities and ensuring that every 911 call gets the right response.”

The academy’s core curriculum totals 140 hours and includes:

• Mental health first aid
• Stress management and resilience training
• Decision-making and ethics
• Self-care practices for responders
• Working with victims of sexual assault and human trafficking
• Crisis prevention and de-escalation
• 80 hours of scenario-based training in practical crisis simulations

In addition, trainees will engage directly with community resources such as food banks, housing coalitions, and shelters to better understand the network of care and services.

“At CNM, we’re committed to providing workforce solutions that support the wellbeing of our local community and economy,” said CNM President Tracy Hartzler. “We’re proud to be expanding our strong partnership with the City of Albuquerque through the Alternative Response Academy, where we’ll work together to deliver proven training practices for ACS professionals to expand their skillsets in areas like mental health first aid, de-escalation and crisis prevention. These trainings, developed by ACS and administered in partnership with CNM Ingenuity, will help empower ACS professionals to save more lives and help make Albuquerque a safer and healthier place to live.”

The ACS Academy builds on CNM’s highly regarded Human Services program, which produces graduates who contribute to the behavioral health workforce locally and statewide. Many of these graduates also continue their education through CNM’s partnership with New Mexico Highlands University to earn bachelors and master’s degrees in social work.

This new collaboration also expands CNM’s existing partnerships with the City of Albuquerque in public safety training, which include:

• The CNM Law Enforcement Academy, which trains Albuquerque Police Department (APD) cadets and other law enforcement cadets in the region.
• CNM Ingenuity’s training program for APD Police Service Aides

“The ACS academy is proof that Albuquerque is reimagining public safety from the ground up. With this partnership we are not only giving our responders accredited training we are creating a pathway for other communities to follow.” said ACS Director Jodie Esquibel. “Together, we are building a comprehensive approach that prioritizes both safety and compassion.”

The ACS Academy will begin training its first class this fall.