Trauma-Informed Care Training Certification Program.

Existing law establishes the State Department of Public Health within the California Health and Human Services Agency. Existing law authorizes the department to perform activities relating to the protection, preservation, and advancement of public health, including evaluations of existing projects and the provision of training programs. This bill would create the Trauma-Informed Care Training Certification Program under the State Department of Public Health for the purpose of certifying trauma-informed care training programs for employees of victim-witness programs, sexual assault victim programs, and other community-based programs that offer services to victims of crime. The bill would require a state or local agency, nonprofit organization, or educational institution's trauma-informed care training program to be certified by the department. The bill would require the department to approve and certify all trauma-informed care training programs that meet certain criteria, including, among other things, programs that provide a minimum of 40 hours of training and teach the major tenets of trauma-informed care, as specified. The bill would set forth legislative findings and declarations in support of these provisions.