Existing law requires the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training to establish a continuing education classroom training course related to law enforcement interaction with mentally disabled persons and to make the course available to law enforcement agencies in California.

This bill would require that the course be shared with the State Fire Marshal and would authorize him or her to revise the course, as specified. The bill would delete an obsolete reporting requirement and make a conforming change.

Existing law requires the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training to establish a continuing education classroom training course related to law enforcement interaction with mentally disabled persons and to make the course available to law enforcement agencies in California.

This bill would require that the course be shared with the State Fire Marshal and would authorize him or her to revise the course, as specified. The bill would delete an obsolete reporting requirement and make a conforming change.

Existing law requires the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training to establish a continuing education classroom training course related to law enforcement interaction with mentally disabled persons and to make the course available to law enforcement agencies in California.

This bill would authorize the commission to make the course available to the State Fire Marshal. The bill would delete an obsolete reporting requirement and make a conforming change.

Existing law requires the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training to establish a continuing education classroom training course related to law enforcement interaction with mentally disabled persons and to make the course available to law enforcement agencies in California.

This bill would authorize the commission to make the course available to firefighters and fire departments in California. the State Fire Marshal. The bill would delete an obsolete reporting requirement and make a conforming change.

Existing law requires the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training to establish a continuing education classroom training course related to law enforcement interaction with mentally disabled persons and to make the course available to law enforcement agencies in California.

This bill would authorize the commission to make the course available to firefighters and fire departments in California. The bill would delete an obsolete reporting requirement and make a conforming change.

 UNFINISHED BUSINESS  

Bill No: SB 1221

Author:

:

Vote:

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

SENATE FLOOR: 37-0, 4/28/16 (Consent)

AYES: Allen, Anderson, Bates, Beall, Berryhill, Block, Cannella, De León, Fuller, Gaines, Galgiani, Glazer, Hall, Hancock, Hertzberg, Hill, Hueso, Huff, Jackson, Lara, Leno, Leyva, Liu, McGuire, Mendoza, Mitchell, Monning, Moorlach, Morrell, Nguyen, Nielsen, Pan, Pavley, Roth, Stone, Wieckowski, Wolk

NO VOTE RECORDED: Hernandez, Runner, Vidak

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 8/22/16 - See last page for vote

SUBJECT:

SOURCE: Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department

DIGEST: This bill directs the Commission on Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST) to make the existing continuing education classroom training course related to law enforcement interaction with persons with mental disabilities available to the State Fire Marshal, who may revise the course as appropriate for firefighters.

Assembly Amendments delete the phrase “mentally disabled persons” and insert “persons with mental disabilities” where applicable.

ANALYSIS:

Existing law:

1. Establishes the Commission on Peace Officer Training and Standards.  (Pen. Code, § 13500.)
   
2. Requires all peace officers to complete an introductory course of training prescribed by POST, demonstrated by passage of an appropriate examination developed by POST. (Pen. Code, § 832, subd. (a).)
   
3. Empowers POST to develop and implement programs to increase the effectiveness of law enforcement.  (Pen. Code, §13503.)
   
4. Authorizes POST, for the purpose of raising the level of competence of local law enforcement officers, to adopt rules establishing minimum standards related to physical, mental and moral fitness and training that shall govern the recruitment of any peace officers in California.  (Pen. Code, § 13510, subd. (a).)
   
5. States that POST shall include in the basic training course for law enforcement officers, adequate instruction in the handling of persons with developmental disabilities or mental illness, or both. In addition to providing instruction on the handling of these persons, the course must also include information on the cause and nature of developmental disabilities and mental illness, as well as the community resources available to serve these persons. (Pen. Code, § 13519.2)
   
6. Requires POST to establish and keep updated a continuing education classroom training course relating to law enforcement interaction with mentally disabled persons. (Pen.Code, § 13515.25.)
   
7. Requires the training course to be developed in consultation with appropriate community, local, and state organizations and agencies that have expertise in the area of mental illness and developmental disability, and with appropriate consumer and family advocate groups. (Pen.Code, § 13515.25.)
   
8. Directs POST to make the course available to law enforcement agencies in California. This course must consist of classroom instruction and utilize interactive training methods to ensure that the training is as realistic as possible and the course must include, at a minimum, core instruction in the following:
   1. The cause and nature of mental illnesses and developmental disabilities; (Pen.Code, § 13515.25.)
      
   2. How to identify indicators of mental disability and how to respond appropriately in a variety of common situations; (Pen.Code, § 13515.25.)
      
   3. Conflict resolution and de-escalation techniques for potentially dangerous situations involving mentally disabled persons; (Pen.Code, § 13515.25.)
      
   4. Appropriate language usage when interacting with mentally disabled persons; (Pen.Code, § 13515.25.)
      
   5. Alternatives to lethal force when interacting with potentially dangerous mentally disabled persons; (Pen.Code, § 13515.25.)
      
   6. Community and state resources available to serve mentally disabled persons and how these resources can be best utilized by law enforcement to benefit the mentally disabled community; and, (Pen.Code, § 13515.25.)
      
   7. The fact that a crime committed in whole or in part because of an actual or perceived disability of the victim is a hate crime. (Pen.Code, § 13515.25.)

This bill 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. This bill also makes additional purely technical amendments to this section.

Background

This legislation would extend 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.

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.

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: Fiscal Com.: Local:

SUPPORT: (Verified 8/22/16)

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (source)

The Arc of California

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

United Cerebral Palsy California Collaboration

OPPOSITION: (Verified 8/22/16)

None received

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 8/22/16

AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Rendon

NO VOTE RECORDED: Melendez

Prepared by:

8/22/16 21:33:55

**** END ****

SENATE THIRD READING

STR Bill Id:SB 1221

Author:(Hertzberg)

As Amended Ver:June 8, 2016

Majority vote

SENATE VOTE: 37-0

SUMMARY: Directs the Commission on Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST) to make the existing continuing education classroom training course related to law enforcement interaction with mentally disabled persons available to the State Fire Marshal, who may revise the course as appropriate for firefighters.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Establishes the Commission on Peace Officer Training and Standards.
2. Requires all peace officers to complete an introductory course of training prescribed by POST, demonstrated by passage of an appropriate examination developed by POST.
3. Empowers POST to develop and implement programs to increase the effectiveness of law enforcement.
4. Authorizes POST, for the purpose of raising the level of competence of local law enforcement officers, to adopt rules establishing minimum standards related to physical, mental and moral fitness and training that shall govern the recruitment of any peace officers in California.
5. States that POST shall include in the basic training course for law enforcement officers, adequate instruction in the handling of persons with developmental disabilities or mental illness, or both. In addition to providing instruction on the handling of these persons, the course must also include information on the cause and nature of developmental disabilities and mental illness, as well as the community resources available to serve these persons.
6. Requires POST to establish and keep updated a continuing education classroom training course relating to law enforcement interaction with mentally disabled persons.
7. Requires the training course to be developed in consultation with appropriate community, local, and state organizations and agencies that have expertise in the area of mental illness and developmental disability, and with appropriate consumer and family advocate groups.
8. Directs POST to make the course available to law enforcement agencies in California. This course must consist of classroom instruction and utilize interactive training methods to ensure that the training is as realistic as possible and the course must include, at a minimum, core instruction in the following:
   1. The cause and nature of mental illnesses and developmental disabilities;
   2. How to identify indicators of mental disability and how to respond appropriately in a variety of common situations;
   3. Conflict resolution and de-escalation techniques for potentially dangerous situations involving mentally disabled persons;
   4. Appropriate language usage when interacting with mentally disabled persons;
   5. Alternatives to lethal force when interacting with potentially dangerous mentally disabled persons;
   6. Community and state resources available to serve mentally disabled persons and how these resources can be best utilized by law enforcement to benefit the mentally disabled community; and,
   7. The fact that a crime committed in whole or in part because of an actual or perceived disability of the victim is a hate crime.

FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Committee on Appropriations, no cost to POST, and minor absorbable to the State Fire Marshal.

COMMENTS: According to the author, "SB 1221 authorizes POST to share their course on interaction with mentally disabled persons, with the State Fire Marshal.

"Making the course available to the State Fire Marshal allows training on topics such as stigmatization and de-escalation tactics, to be specifically tailored for firefighters. Many times firefighters, not law enforcement, are the first responders to an emergency scene and this training will ensure that firefighters can respond to mental health emergencies appropriately.

"Treating a mental health emergency solely as a criminal issue can have serious unintended consequences. SB 1221 protects the safety of mentally-ill individuals and firefighters."

Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion of this bill.

Analysis Prepared by: David Billingsley / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744 FN: 0003807

Date of Hearing: June 29, 2016

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Lorena Gonzalez, Chair

SBPCA Bill Id:SB 1221

Author:(Hertzberg) – As Amended Ver:June 8, 2016

Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: No

SUMMARY:

This bill directs the Commission on Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST) to make the existing continuing education classroom training course related to law enforcement interaction with mentally disabled persons available to the State Fire Marshal, who may revise the course as appropriate for firefighters.

FISCAL EFFECT:

No cost to POST, and minor absorbable to the State Fire Marshal.

COMMENTS:

1. Background/Purpose. POST currently provides a continuing education course on interacting with individuals with developmental disabilities or mental health issues. Students are instructed on conflict resolution and de-escalation techniques for potentially dangerous situations involving mentally disabled persons and appropriate language use when interacting with mentally disabled persons. Individuals receiving instruction are also told about community and state resources available to serve mentally disabled persons.

SB 1221 authorizes POST to share their course on interaction with mentally disabled persons with the State Fire Marshal.

Many times firefighters, not law enforcement, are the first responders to an emergency scene. To the extent firefighters have a better understanding of mental health issues, those contacts are going to result in better outcomes. This training will ensure that firefighters can respond to mental health emergencies appropriately, and will help protect the safety of mentally-ill individuals and firefighters.

1. Related Legislation:
   
2. SB 29 (Beall), Chapter 469, Statutes of 2015, requires law enforcement field training officers to have at least 8 hours of crisis intervention behavioral health training.
   
3. SB 11 (Beall), Chapter 468, Statutes of 2015, requires POST to update its basic training course related to law enforcement interaction with persons with mental illness to include at least 15 hours.
   
4. Prior Legislation: AB 1718 (Hertzberg), Chapter 95, Statutes of 2000, required that POST establish and keep updated a continuing education classroom training course relating to law enforcement intervention with developmentally disabled and mentally ill persons and that the course be developed in consultation with specified groups and entities.
   

Analysis Prepared by: Pedro Reyes / APPR. / (916) 319-2081

Date of Hearing: June 14, 2016

Counsel: David Billingsley

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY

Reginald Byron Jones-Sawyer, Sr., Chair

SBPCA Bill Id:SB 1221

Author:(Hertzberg) – As Amended Ver:April 26, 2016

SUMMARY: Directs the Commission on Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST) to make the existing continuing education classroom training course related to law enforcement interaction with mentally disabled persons available to the State Fire Marshal, who may revise the course as appropriate for firefighters.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Establishes the Commission on Peace Officer Training and Standards.  (Pen. Code, § 13500.)
   
2. Requires all peace officers to complete an introductory course of training prescribed by POST, demonstrated by passage of an appropriate examination developed by POST. (Pen. Code, § 832, subd. (a).)
   
3. Empowers POST to develop and implement programs to increase the effectiveness of law enforcement.  (Pen. Code, §13503.)
   
4. Authorizes POST, for the purpose of raising the level of competence of local law enforcement officers, to adopt rules establishing minimum standards related to physical, mental and moral fitness and training that shall govern the recruitment of any peace officers in California.  (Pen. Code, § 13510, subd. (a).)
   
5. States that POST shall include in the basic training course for law enforcement officers, adequate instruction in the handling of persons with developmental disabilities or mental illness, or both. In addition to providing instruction on the handling of these persons, the course must also include information on the cause and nature of developmental disabilities and mental illness, as well as the community resources available to serve these persons. (Pen. Code, § 13519.2)
   
6. Requires POST to establish and keep updated a continuing education classroom training course relating to law enforcement interaction with mentally disabled persons. (Pen.Code, § 13515.25.)
   
7. Requires the training course to be developed in consultation with appropriate community, local, and state organizations and agencies that have expertise in the area of mental illness and developmental disability, and with appropriate consumer and family advocate groups. (Pen.Code, § 13515.25.)
   
8. Directs POST to make the course available to law enforcement agencies in California. This course must consist of classroom instruction and utilize interactive training methods to ensure that the training is as realistic as possible and the course must include, at a minimum, core instruction in the following:
   1. The cause and nature of mental illnesses and developmental disabilities; (Pen.Code, § 13515.25.)
      
   2. How to identify indicators of mental disability and how to respond appropriately in a variety of common situations; (Pen.Code, § 13515.25.)
      
   3. Conflict resolution and de-escalation techniques for potentially dangerous situations involving mentally disabled persons; (Pen.Code, § 13515.25.)
      
   4. Appropriate language usage when interacting with mentally disabled persons; (Pen.Code, § 13515.25.)
      
   5. Alternatives to lethal force when interacting with potentially dangerous mentally disabled persons; (Pen.Code, § 13515.25.)
      
   6. Community and state resources available to serve mentally disabled persons and how these resources can be best utilized by law enforcement to benefit the mentally disabled community; and, (Pen.Code, § 13515.25.)
      
   7. The fact that a crime committed in whole or in part because of an actual or perceived disability of the victim is a hate crime. (Pen.Code, § 13515.25.)

FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown

COMMENTS:

1. Author's Statement: According to the author, "SB 1221 authorizes POST to share their course on interaction with mentally disabled persons, with the State Fire Marshal.

“Making the course available to the State Fire Marshal allows training on topics such as stigmatization and de-escalation tactics, to be specifically tailored for firefighters. Many times firefighters, not law enforcement, are the first responders to an emergency scene and this training will ensure that firefighters can respond to mental health emergencies appropriately.

“Treating a mental health emergency solely as a criminal issue can have serious unintended consequences. SB 1221 protects the safety of mentally-ill individuals and firefighters.”

1. POST Continuing Education Course on Developmental Disabilities and Mental Health Issues: POST currently provides a continuing education course on interacting with individuals with developmental disabilities or mental health issues. This bill would make that training program available to firefighters.
   
   The POST training course consists of classroom instruction and interactive training methods to ensure that the training is as realistic as possible. The course includes topics such as the cause and nature or mental illnesses and developmental disabilities and how to identify indicators of mental disability and how to respond appropriately in a variety of common situations.
   
   Students are instructed on conflict resolution and de-escalation techniques for potentially dangerous situations involving mentally disabled persons and appropriate language use when interacting with mentally disabled persons. Individuals receiving instruction are also told about community and state resources available to serve mentally disabled persons.
   
2. Frequency of Law Enforcement Contacts Involving Mental Health Issues: Law enforcement officers are often the first responders to mental health crisis calls; they respond to 911 calls ranging from suicide attempts to individuals potentially endangering themselves or others. Studies confirm that the volume of calls to law enforcement involving crisis mental health concerns have been increasing in the past decade. Mental health crisis calls also take more officer time to resolve. More than eighty percent of the agencies that Disability Rights California surveyed report that officers spend more time on these calls. Nearly 4 out of 10 agencies estimated that officers spend two hours or more on mental health calls. This means that on a typical day, officers can spend 1/3 of their time in interactions which would necessitate skills in crisis intervention and de-escalation. Beyond crisis calls, officers routinely respond to calls where they are required to determine whether a person meets the criteria for involuntary detention for psychiatric assessment and treatment (otherwise known as 5150). Even standard crime scene calls require officers to use skills to de-escalate potentially volatile situations when interacting with members of the public. (An Ounce of Prevention: Law Enforcement Training Mental Health Crisis Intervention, (2014) Disability Rights California, p. 37.)
   
   Many law enforcement agencies throughout the state have augmented their training programs to provide officers with additional training after the academy in responding to people with mental health disabilities in crisis. Augmented training varies widely but generally includes information on recognizing the symptoms of a psychiatric disability and methods for how to interact with an individual in crisis, including specific de-escalation techniques. Topics covered in a typical Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) program are not otherwise mandated in California or required at any level of officer training. Police chiefs and senior officers consistently report that their personnel are better equipped at handling mental health crisis calls after participating in a CIT program. Furthermore, jurisdictions in which officers receive CIT report fewer injuries, fewer incidents requiring use of force, and better outcomes for their officers and community members. (An Ounce of Prevention: Law Enforcement Training Mental Health Crisis Intervention, (2014) Disability Rights California, p. 38-39.)
   
3. Firefighter Contact with Individuals with Mental Health Issues: As first responders, firefighters are dealing with emergency situations which extend beyond putting out fires.
   
   “In 1980, according to the National Fire Protection Association, the nation's 30,000 fire departments responded to 10.8 million emergency calls. About 3 million were classified as fires. By 2013, total calls had nearly tripled to 31.6 million, while fire calls had plummeted to 1.24 million, of which just 500,000 of were actual structure fires. For America's 1.14 million career and volunteer firefighters, that works out to an average of just one structure fire every other year.” http://www.governing.com/columns/smart-mgmt/col-fire-departments-rethink-delivery-emergency-medical-services.html
   
   As first responders, firefighters are dealing with a wide range of situations. Firefighters are likely to interact with individuals with mental health issues at a similar rate as law enforcement officers. To the extent firefighters have a better understanding of mental health issues, those contacts are going to result in better outcomes.
4. Argument in Support: According to The Los Angeles County Office of the Sheriff, ”Existing law requires the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training to establish a continuing education classroom course related to law enforcement interaction with mentally disabled persons and to make the course available to law enforcement agencies in California. Firefighters, being first responders come into contact with mentally disabled persons as frequently as law enforcement officers. However, the amount of training firefighters receive is minimal, if any at all.
   
   “This bill would authorize the commission to make the course available to the State Fire Marshal. Making the course available to the Fire Marshal allows training on topics such as stigmatization and de-escalation tactics to be specifically tailored for firefighters.
   
   “Very often, firefighters, not law enforcement, are the first responders to any emergency scene and this training will ensure that firefighters can respond to mental health emergencies appropriately. Treating a mental health emergency solely as a criminal issue can have serious unintended consequences and we must ensure that firefighters are equipped to handle a range of emergencies.”
   
5. Related Legislation:
   
   1. AB 1227 (Cooper), of the 2015-16 Legislative Session, would have required POST to study and submit a report to the Legislature, on or before December 31, 2017, that assessed the statuses of specified training courses on mental health issues. AB 1227 was held in Assembly Appropriations.
      
   2. SB 29 (Beall), Chapter 469, Statutes of 2015, requires law enforcement field training officers to have at least 8 hours of crisis intervention behavioral health training.
      
   3. SB 11 (Beall), Chapter 468, Statutes of 2015, requires POST to update its basic training course related to law enforcement interaction with persons with mental illness to include at least 15 hours.
      
6. Prior Legislation: AB 1718 (Hertzberg), Chapter 95, Statutes of 2000, Required that POST establish and keep updated a continuing education classroom training course relating to law enforcement intervention with developmentally disabled and mentally ill persons and that the course be developed in consultation with specified groups and entities.
   

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office (Sponsor)
Arc and United Cerebral Palsy California Collaboration
Association of Regional Center Agencies
California Council of Community Behavioral Health Agencies
California Fire Chiefs Association
California Public Defenders Association
California State Sheriffs’ Association
Disability Rights California
Fire Districts Association of California
League of California Cities
Mental Health America of California
National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter
North Los Angeles County Regional Center
State Council on Developmental Disabilities

Opposition

None

Analysis Prepared by: David Billingsley / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744

 CONSENT  

Bill No: SB 1221

Author:

Amended: 4/26/16

Vote:

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:

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.
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-course.aspx)

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: Fiscal Com.: Local:

SUPPORT: (Verified 4/25/16)

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: (Verified 4/25/16)

None received

Prepared by:

4/27/16 15:57:27

**** END ****

SENATE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY

Senator Loni Hancock, Chair

2015 - 2016 Regular

Bill No: SB 1221 Hearing Date: April 12, 2016

Subject: Firefighters: Interaction with Mentally Disabled Persons

HISTORY

Source: Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department

Prior Legislation: AB 1227 (Cooper) – introduced in 2015, held in Senate Appropriations (2016)

SB 11 (Beall) – Chapter 468, Stats. 2015

SB 29 (Beall) – Chapter 2015, Stats. 2015

Support: Association of Regional Center Agencies; California Fire Chiefs Association; California Public Defenders Association; California State Council on Development Disabilities; California State Sheriffs’ Association; California Public Defenders Association; Disability Rights California; Fire Districts Association of California; League of California Cities

Opposition: Unknown

PURPOSE

The purpose of this bill is to make the POST training course relating to interactions with the mentally disabled available to firefighters and fire departments.

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 authorizes POST to make available this educational training to firefighters and fire departments.

This bill makes additional purely technical amendments to this section.

RECEIVERSHIP/OVERCROWDING CRISIS AGGRAVATION

For the past several years this Committee has scrutinized legislation referred to its jurisdiction for any potential impact on prison overcrowding. Mindful of the United States Supreme Court ruling and federal court orders relating to the state’s ability to provide a constitutional level of health care to its inmate population and the related issue of prison overcrowding, this Committee has applied its “ROCA” policy as a content-neutral, provisional measure necessary to ensure that the Legislature does not erode progress in reducing prison overcrowding.

On February 10, 2014, the federal court ordered California to reduce its in-state adult institution population to 137.5% of design capacity by February 28, 2016, as follows:

• 143% of design bed capacity by June 30, 2014;
• 141.5% of design bed capacity by February 28, 2015; and,
• 137.5% of design bed capacity by February 28, 2016.

In December of 2015 the administration reported that as “of December 9, 2015, 112,510 inmates were housed in the State’s 34 adult institutions, which amounts to 136.0% of design bed capacity, and 5,264 inmates were housed in out-of-state facilities. The current population is 1,212 inmates below the final court-ordered population benchmark of 137.5% of design bed capacity, and has been under that benchmark since February 2015.” (Defendants’ December 2015 Status Report in Response to February 10, 2014 Order, 2:90-cv-00520 KJM DAD PC, 3-Judge Court, Coleman v. Brown, Plata v. Brown (fn. omitted).) One year ago, 115,826 inmates were housed in the State’s 34 adult institutions, which amounted to 140.0% of design bed capacity, and 8,864 inmates were housed in out-of-state facilities. (Defendants’ December 2014 Status Report in Response to February 10, 2014 Order, 2:90-cv-00520 KJM DAD PC, 3-Judge Court, Coleman v. Brown, Plata v. Brown (fn. omitted).)

While significant gains have been made in reducing the prison population, the state must stabilize these advances and demonstrate to the federal court that California has in place the “durable solution” to prison overcrowding “consistently demanded” by the court. (Opinion Re: Order Granting in Part and Denying in Part Defendants’ Request For Extension of December 31, 2013 Deadline, NO. 2:90-cv-0520 LKK DAD (PC), 3-Judge Court, Coleman v. Brown, Plata v. Brown (2-10-14). The Committee’s consideration of bills that may impact the prison population therefore will be informed by the following questions:

• Whether a proposal erodes a measure which has contributed to reducing the prison population;
• Whether a proposal addresses a major area of public safety or criminal activity for which there is no other reasonable, appropriate remedy;
• Whether a proposal addresses a crime which is directly dangerous to the physical safety of others for which there is no other reasonably appropriate sanction;
• Whether a proposal corrects a constitutional problem or legislative drafting error; and
• Whether a proposal proposes penalties which are proportionate, and cannot be achieved through any other reasonably appropriate remedy.

COMMENTS

1. Need for This Bill

According to the author:

Researchers at the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research found that nearly one in five adults in the state — about 4.9 million people — said they needed help for a mental or emotional health problem.

Frequently, police officers respond to mental health related calls and incidents, many of which can be time consuming. The Federal Bureau of Justice Affairs reported that “behaviors resulting in mental illness are a factor in 3 to 7 percent of all law enforcement calls for service.”

Existing law requires POST to establish a continuing education classroom training course related to law enforcement interaction with mentally disabled persons and to make the course available to law enforcement agencies in California. Firefighters, being first responders, come into contact with mentally disabled persons as frequently as law enforcement officers.

Fire and Emergency Medical Services are trained on the medical side, but mental health emergencies can mimic medical ones and it is important for all personnel responding to these emergencies to be aware of the implications of that.

2. Effect of Legislation; Background

This legislation would extend 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.^[1]

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.^[2]

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1. https://www.post.ca.gov/did-you-know-mental-health.aspx ↑

2. https://www.post.ca.gov/mental-health-training-in-the-regular-basic-course.aspx ↑