MEETING DATE
10/23/2014 |
BUREAU SUBMITTING THIS REPORT
Strategic Communications and Research Bureau |
RESEARCHED BY (PRINT NAME)
Shelley Spilberg |
REVIEWED BY (PRINT NAME)
Alan Deal |
REPORT DATE
08/05/2014 |
APPROVED BY
Robert A. Stresak |
DATE APPROVED
09/30/14 |
PURPOSE
Decision Requested |
FINANCIAL IMPACT
No
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| ISSUE: |
| In conjunction with the publication of the 2014 POST Peace Officer Psychological Screening Manual, should the Commission approve the development and administration of fee-based continuing education courses for psychologists conducting peace officer pre-employment evaluations? |
| BACKGROUND: |
The project to revise the POST Peace Officer Psychological Evaluation Manual was initiated in 2003. Significant and regular developments in the laws, regulations and professional guidelines impacting peace officer psychological screening have occurred since that time. POST has been at the forefront of these changes -- initiating and participating in changes to Government Codes 1031(f) and 1031.2, revising Commission Regulation 1955 on Peace Officer Psychological Evaluation requirements to ensure the job-relatedness of psychological screening, and the professionalism of psychological evaluators, and publishing guidance on pre-offer personality testing, along with an online database of test publisher-provided information on individual personality tests.
The issuance of the Manual marks an important milestone in POST’s mission to ensure that, per California Government Code 1031(f) and POST Commission Regulation 1955, every peace officer is “free from any emotional or mental condition that might adversely affect the exercise of the powers of a peace officer and to otherwise ensure that the candidate is capable of withstanding the psychological demands of the position.”
A major theme of the Manual is the acknowledgment that the effectiveness of the psychological evaluation rests in good part on the skill and acumen of the evaluator. In recognition of this fact, in 2013, a continuing professional education (CPE) requirement [Commission Regulation 1955(b)] for psychologists was added. Regulation 1955(b) requires that psychologists who conduct pre-employment peace officer psychological evaluations complete 12 hours of POST-approved CPE instruction biennially. POST approval is granted to continuing education that: (1) has been recognized and accepted by the California Board of Psychology; and (2) is of direct relevance and applicability to pre-employment psychological assessment. |
| ANALYSIS: |
An application has been submitted to the California Psychological Association for certification of POST as a continuing education provider. Upon receiving this certification, psychologists who successfully complete POST-offered courses will receive credit that will satisfy both Commission Regulation 1955(b) and the California Board of Psychology’s continuing education requirement.
Two types of POST continuing education are being planned. The first is a distance learning course, which will offer approximately 8 hours of CE credit for the successful completion of an online written comprehensive test based upon reading the POST Peace Officer Psychological Screening Manual. Approximately $75 will be charged to receive a certificate of completion and to recoup development and administration costs. This amounts to less than $10 per hour of CE credit, which is a relatively modest cost compared to similar online courses.
The second course planned will be a week-long workshop, beginning Monday afternoon and ending Friday morning. The first 1½ days will be led by POST staff and screening psychologists who have served on the POST blue-ribbon steering panel. The remainder of the week will include half-day segments during which specific psychological test publishers or researchers will discuss their instruments and their relevance to the psychological screening of peace officers. Several of these courses are planned for presentations throughout the state on an annual basis.
Participating test publishers will not be compensated; however, private psychologists and researchers who help teach the course will be offered an honorarium of approximately $750/day, exclusive of travel. This fee is equivalent to the honorarium offered by the American Board of Professional Psychology and the American Academy of Forensic Psychology. For the full five-days (32 CE hours), it is estimated that attendees will be charged approximately $375. This charge (and CE hours) will be prorated for psychologists who prefer to attend individual segments rather than the entire week. |
| RECOMMENDATION: |
| Staff recommends that the Commission approve the development and administration of fee-based continuing education courses for peace officer screening psychologists. |
| ATTACHMENT(S): |
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Type: |
| No Attachments Available |
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