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COUNTY OF SAN MATEO
Inter-Departmental Correspondence
Health System
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DATE:
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December 10, 2009
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BOARD MEETING DATE:
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January 12, 2010
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SPECIAL NOTICE/HEARING:
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None
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VOTE REQUIRED:
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Majority
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TO:
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Honorable Board of Supervisors
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FROM:
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Jean S. Fraser, Chief, Health System
Brian Zamora, Director, Community Health
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SUBJECT:
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Resolution Authorizing San Mateo County Emergency Medical Services to obtain criminal history information for certification purposes
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RECOMMENDATION:
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Adopt a Resolution:
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1)
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Authorizing San Mateo County Emergency Medical Services to access state and federal level summary criminal history information for certification for Emergency Medical Technicial-1 purposes and may not disseminate the information to a private entity; and
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2)
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Authorizing San Mateo County Emergency Medical Services not to consider a person who has been convicted of a violent or serious felony or misdemeanor eligible for certification except that such conviction may be disregarded if it is determined that mitigating circumstances exist, or that the conviction is not related to the certification in question.
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BACKGROUND:
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San Mateo County Emergency Medical Services (EMS) has been certifying Emergency Medical Technicians-1 (EMT-1) for over 20 years. On September 15, 1998, your board authorized Resolution 62265, which resulted in a process to initiate fingerprinting, background checks and subsequent arrest notification from the Department of Justice (DOJ) for individuals who obtain and maintain their EMT-1 certification through EMS.
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In 2008 AB 2917 was signed into law. This legislation modifies several aspects of EMT-1 certification and requires certifying agencies such as EMS to obtain background checks and subsequent arrest notification from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as well as from DOJ. Certain sections of the Penal Code authorize cities, counties and districts to access state and local summary criminal history and require that the City Council, Board of Supervisors or governing body of a city, county or district authorize access to summary criminal history information for certification purposes. They also require that there be exclusions from certification based on specific criminal conduct on the part of the subject of the record.
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DISCUSSION:
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Approval of this Resolution will allow the EMS to obtain background checks from the FBI for individuals applying for EMT-1 certification, and to comply with new statutory language requiring agencies performing EMT-1 certification to obtain background checks from the FBI and DOJ. It is estimated that approximately 100 applicants will be screened annually.
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The Resolution has been reviewed and approved by County Counsel.
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Approval of this Resolution contributes to the Shared Vision 2025 outcome of a Healthy Community by enabling EMS to screen EMT-1 technicians properly, safeguarding the security of San Mateo County residents and enhancing the caliber of the pool of applicants who will eventually provide emergency medical services. It is anticipated that 92% of ambulance responses will comply with response time standards. This measure is an important indicator of quality emergency medical services.
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Performance Measure:
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Measure
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FY 2008-09
Actual
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FY 2009-10
Projected
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Percent compliance with ambulance response time standards.
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91.6%
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92%
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FISCAL IMPACT:
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There is no fiscal impact with approval of this Resolution.
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