BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó




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                                      CONSENT 


          Bill No:  SB 1221
          Author:   Hertzberg (D) 
          Amended:  4/26/16  
          Vote:     21 

           SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE:  6-0, 4/12/16
           AYES:  Hancock, Glazer, Leno, Liu, Monning, Stone
           NO VOTE RECORDED:  Anderson

          SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8
           
           SUBJECT:   Firefighters:  interaction with mentally disabled  
                     persons


          SOURCE:    Author

          DIGEST:  This bill makes the POST training course relating to  
          interactions with the mentally disabled available to the State  
          Fire Marshall. 

          ANALYSIS:  
          
          Existing law requires the Commission on Peace Officer Standards  
          and Training (POST) "to establish and keep updated a continuing  
          education classroom training course relating to law enforcement  
          interaction with the mentally disabled" and to make the course  
          available to law enforcement agencies in California. (Penal Code  
          §13515.25.)

          This bill:

          1)Authorizes POST to make available this educational training to  
            the State Fire Marshall, who may revise the course as  
            appropriate to the firefighter training environment.








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          2)Makes additional purely technical amendments to this section.


          Background
          
          This legislation extends POST's current training program to  
          prepare law enforcement officers for interactions with both  
          developmentally and mentally disabled persons to firefighters.  
          The POST training for law enforcement website highlights some  
          examples of such disabilities and its common occurrences that  
          the training would target: one out of 17 adults suffer from  
          schizophrenia, bi-polar disorder or major depression, 46% of the  
          homeless have a mental illness and/or substance abuse disorder,  
          and one out of 68 children is diagnosed with Autism Spectrum  
          Disorder. (www.post.ca.gov/did-you-know-mental-health.aspx)

          Currently, law enforcement training provides a minimum of 664  
          training hours in its Regular Basic Course, which is divided  
          into 42 individual law enforcement topics called Learning  
          Domains (LD). LD37 focuses on People with Disabilities and  
          requires a minimum of 15 hours of instruction, learning  
          activities, a written exam and resolving a "high stakes"  
          scenario involving a person with a mental or developmental  
          disability. The training is designed to:

            Introduce the laws that protect people with disabilities,  
            enhance the recognition of behaviors that are indicative of  
            disability or mental illness, provide de-escalation skills,  
            teach situation-appropriate responses and referrals to the  
            individual and community, and reduce the stigma associated  
            with mental illness and disabilities.   
            (www.post.ca.gov/mental-health-training-in-the-regualr-basic-co 
            urse.aspx)


          FISCAL EFFECT:   Appropriation:    No          Fiscal  
          Com.:YesLocal:   No


          SUPPORT:   (Verified4/25/16)









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          Association of Regional Center Agencies
          California Fire Chiefs Association
          California Public Defenders Association
          California State Council on Development Disabilities
          California State Sheriffs' Association
          Disability Rights California
          Fire Districts Association of California
          League of California Cities
          National Association of Social Workers - California Chapter 
          Office of the Sheriff County of Los Angeles


          OPPOSITION:   (Verified4/25/16)


          None received




          Prepared by:Molly Lao / PUB. S. /
          4/27/16 15:57:27


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