State Fire Marshal and Emergency Medical Services Authority: peer-to-peer suicide prevention.

Under the California Fire Service Training and Education Program Act, the State Fire Marshal is authorized to, among other things, establish courses of study and curriculum relating to fire service training, as provided. Existing law directs the State Fire Marshal to establish additional training standards that include criteria for curriculum content recommended by the Emergency Response Training Advisory Committee involving first responders to terrorism incidents, as provided. Existing law requires the State Fire Marshal to contract with the California Firefighter Joint Apprenticeship Program for the development of that curriculum content criteria. Existing law authorizes every paid and volunteer firefighter assigned to field duties in a state or local fire department or fire protection or firefighting agency to receive the training. Existing law makes these requirements contingent upon the receipt of federal funds, as provided. Existing law, the Emergency Medical Services System and the Prehospital Emergency Medical Care Personnel Act, governs local emergency medical services (EMS) systems. The act establishes the Emergency Medical Services Authority, which is responsible for the coordination and integration of EMS systems. The act authorizes each county to develop an emergency medical services program and requires each county developing a program to designate a local EMS agency consisting of the county health department, an agency established and operated by the county, an entity with which the county contracts for the purposes of local emergency medical services administration, or a joint powers agency, as specified. This bill would require the State Fire Marshal to establish additional training standards that include the criteria for curriculum content recommended by the Statewide Training and Education Advisory Committee involving peer-to-peer suicide prevention programming. The bill would require the State Fire Marshal to coordinate with the California Firefighter Joint Apprenticeship Program to develop and deliver the curriculum content criteria. The bill would authorize all paid personnel assigned to field duties in a state or local fire department or fire protection or firefighting agency to receive the peer-to-peer suicide prevention training, as provided. This bill would require the State Fire Marshal to make the curriculum content criteria available to the authority. The bill would make the implementation of these provisions contingent upon an appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act or another statute. This bill would require the authority to distribute to each local EMS agency the curriculum content criteria for peer-to-peer suicide prevention programming and would require each local EMS agency to make the curriculum content criteria available to each emergency medical services employer in the local EMS agency's jurisdiction. The bill would authorize every paid emergency medical services responder to receive appropriate training consistent with the curriculum content criteria. To the extent that this bill would impose a new duty on the local EMS agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.