As mentioned in Commission Agenda Item C.12 from the October 26, 2017 meeting, the revenue received by POST has decreased over the last few years, thus negatively impacting POST's ability to reimburse for law enforcement training. Although the current five reimbursement plans address a multitude of training needs, regulation does not provide any middle ground option. Consequently, under the current model the Regulation does not afford the Executive Director or his/her designee the latitude to modify reimbursement to address fluctuations in revenues, without formal approval through the Commission and OAL. As such, staff can only fully reimburse a presenter or agency within the constraints of a specific Plan, or eliminate the entire reimbursement altogether with a Plan NA, which provides no funding from POST.
To compensate for declining revenues, POST, in conjunction with the Department of Finance, implemented an 18-month budget reduction plan beginning in January 1, 2014, which was followed by an ongoing reduction of $5.2 million included in the 2015 Budget Act. Due to ongoing reductions in revenue, and to exercise fiscal prudence while still maintaining POST’s commitment to peace officer selection standards and mandated training, POST has implemented significant budget reduction measures in the form of suspended reimbursements (Plans I-IV) for training, except for those generally associated with State of California mandates.
The most recent renewal of POST’s budget reduction measures was implemented on November 28, 2017, with a projected expiration of the suspension, if funding is restored to levels commensurate with the training needs of law enforcement, on June 30, 2018.
The Governor Proposed Budget was released on January 10, 2018, with a recommendation of an additional 3.4 million dollar reduction for FY 18/19, thus increasing the imperative to restructure the reimbursement process to meet contemporary budget realities.
POST Staff have taken measures to address critical revenue shortages via email communication to the field, followed up with a series of face-to-face meetings, phone calls and web conferences for POST Staff to hear stakeholder concerns, and to discuss creative alternatives to address funding challenges, while also supporting the field to the greatest extent possible. During these conversations stakeholders expressed frustration at the lack of flexibility POST Staff had with respect to reimbursement. One of the recommendations from these forums was to creates Reimbursement Plans with more flexibility, which suggested a structure that would allow POST Staff to provide partial reimbursement, depending on the specific course, whether it is required by Regulation or legislation, and to meet unique agency and regional training needs.
POST Staff propose restructuring the Reimbursement Process (Attachment C), which will allow the Executive Director or his/her designee the flexibility to be more responsive to unique training needs and hardships for specific stakeholders and regions, to ensure staff have the capability to ensure consistency in distribution of monies to the field, and to allow reimbursement levels to be more flexible to address future fluctuation in POST budget allocations and the associated revenue stream.
Below are the recommended protocols.
Proposed Reimbursement Plans
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Presenter Plan 1 (P1): Full reimbursement to presenter
- Presenter Plan 2 (P2): Partial reimbursement to presenter
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Presenter Plan 3 (P3): No reimbursement to presenter and,
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Student/Agency Plan 1 (S1): Full reimbursement to student/employing agency
- Student/Agency Plan 1 (S2): Partial reimbursement to student/employing agency
- Student/Agency Plan 1 (S3): No reimbursement to student/employing agency
With this new process, the Executive Director, or his/her designee, may annually, or more frequently as needed establish the rates for Reimbursement Plans commensurate with the availability of funds allocated to POST’s budget and associated revenue, and may do so without formal approval by the Commission or pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act. The Executive Director, or his/her designee, shall notify the Commission of any changes to the reimbursement rates pursuant to this section at the respective subsequent Commission Meeting. Rate changes to the plans shall be provided to the field at least 180 days in advance of implementation.
Reimbursement for the training courses selected for reimbursement will be uniform across the state for both presenter and students/employing agencies, and the proposed language allows a contingency for unique and unanticipated reimbursement needs. Reimbursement for Basic Courses and several other courses specified in the proposed regulation shall be independently established by POST.
Presenter Plan 1 (P1) provides full reimbursement as determined by POST for presentation costs, establishing a designated amount be provided to a training presenter of a POST approved course. Reimbursement allocation shall be determined by the length and content of the course, instructor qualification needs, site and safety needs, as well as administrative demand unique to each course. Presenters with courses approved as P1 will be required to adhere to maximum capacity levels determined by POST to ensure quality of curriculum delivery and safety, as well as minimum capacity levels to ensure cost effective course delivery. Reimbursement under this Plan shall be made to the course presenter via the Commission-approved Presenter Reimbursement Request (PRR) form.
Presenter Plan 2 (P2) provides partial standardized reimbursement per student, up to a maximum capacity established by POST, with a designated amount allocated to a training presenter for providing instruction in a POST approved course. Reimbursement allocation shall be determined by the length and content of the course, instructor qualification needs, site and safety needs, as well as administrative demand unique to each course. Presenters utilizing this Plan will be required to adhere to maximum capacity levels determined by POST to ensure quality of curriculum delivery and safety, as well as minimum capacity levels to ensure cost effective course delivery. Reimbursement under this Plan shall be made to the course presenter via the Commission-approved Presenter Reimbursement Request (PRR) form.
Presenter Plan 3 (P3) provides no reimbursement to a training presenter for providing instruction in a POST approved course. Presenters may offer POST certified courses under this Plan, and all costs associated with the instruction shall be borne by either the student, employing agency, presenter, or a combination thereof. Presenters may charge reasonable tuition as determined by POST to offset costs.
Student/Agency Plan 1 (S1) provides full reimbursement to the student/employing agency as determined by POST for each day the student (per-capita) in attendance of a POST certified course, regardless of the hours of instruction provided on any given day. Reimbursement under this Plan shall be made to the student’s employing agency via a Training Reimbursement Request (TRR) form.
Student/Agency Plan 2 (S2) provides a partial standardized reimbursement amount to the student/employing agency as determined by POST for each day the student (per-capita) in attendance of a POST certified course, regardless of the hours of instruction provided on any given day. The student’s employing agency shall bear any additional costs for training, including travel and per diem. No reimbursement shall be provided for travel days to/from the training location. Reimbursement under this Plan shall be made to the student’s employing agency via a Training Reimbursement Request (TRR) form.
Student/Agency Plan 3 (S3) provides no reimbursement to a student/employing agency for attending a POST approved course. Students and /or their employing agency shall bear all costs associated with this training, e.g. tuition and travel.
The most important benefits of this proposed regulatory language, is it will ensure responsibility for training is a shared commitment by POST and its participating agencies, it will satisfy legislative and regulatory mandates, and it will also ensure the intended student population receives the required training and that POST staff can be more responsive to stakeholder training needs. The proposed language also provides POST staff with the flexibility required to address unique needs, as well as language to allow POST staff the latitude to adjust the course reimbursement amount commensurate with the availability of funding.
Further, since some reimbursement costs will be borne by stakeholder agencies, this language will incentivize cost effective training planning, and dis-incentivize cost prohibitive cross-state travel when comparable training can be obtained locally or regionally at a far more efficient cost.
The Presenter Reimbursement Request (PRR) form 2-243 (Attachment D) will require revision (revised regulation reference and updated date) to reflect the proposed regulatory changes.
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