For purposes of this article, the following terms have the following meanings:

(a) “Confidential communication” means any information, including, but not limited to, written or oral communication, transmitted between an emergency service personnel, a peer support team member, or a crisis hotline or crisis referral service staff member while the peer support team member provides peer support services or the crisis hotline or crisis referral service staff member provides crisis services, and in confidence by a means that, as far as the emergency service personnel is aware, does not disclose the information to third persons other than those who are present to further the interests of the emergency service personnel or those to whom disclosures are reasonably necessary for the transmission of the information or an accomplishment of the purposes for which the peer support team member is providing services.

(b) “Crisis referral services” include all public or private organizations that provide consultation and treatment resources for personal problems, including mental health issues, chemical dependency, domestic violence, gambling, financial problems, and other personal crises. Neither crisis referral services nor crisis hotlines include services provided by an employee association, labor relations representative or labor relations organization, or any entity owned or operated by an employee association, labor relations representative, or labor relations organization.

(c) “Critical incident” means an event or situation that involves crisis, disaster, trauma, or emergency.

(d) “Critical incident stress” means the acute or cumulative psychological stress or trauma that emergency service personnel may experience in providing emergency services in response to a critical incident. The stress or trauma is an unusually strong emotional, cognitive, behavioral, or physical reaction that may interfere with normal functioning and could lead to post-traumatic stress and other injuries, including, but not limited to, the following:

(1) Physical and emotional illness.

(2) Failure of usual coping mechanisms.

(3) Loss of interest in the job or normal life activities.

(4) Personality changes.

(5) Loss of ability to function.

(6) Psychological disruption of personal life, including the person’s relationship with a spouse, child, or friend.

(e) “Emergency service personnel” means an employee of the state, local, or regional public fire agency who provides emergency response services, including a firefighter, paramedic, emergency medical technician, dispatcher, emergency response communication employee, rescue service personnel, emergency manager, or any other employee of a state, local, or regional public fire agency.

(f) “Peer support services” means authorized peer support services provided by a peer support team member to emergency service personnel and their immediate families affected by a critical incident or the cumulative effect of witnessing multiple critical incidents. Peer support services assist those affected by a critical incident in coping with critical incident stress and mitigating reactions to critical incident stress, including reducing the risk of post-traumatic stress and other injuries. Peer support services may include any of the following:

(1) Precrisis education.

(2) Critical incident stress defusings.

(3) Critical incident stress debriefings.

(4) On-scene support services.

(5) One-on-one support services.

(6) Consultation.

(7) Referral services.

(8) Confidentiality obligations.

(9) The impact of toxic stress on health and well-being.

(10) Grief support.

(11) Substance abuse awareness and approaches.

(12) Active listening skills.

(g) “Peer support program” means a program administered by the state, local, or regional public fire agency to deliver peer support services to emergency service personnel consistent with this article and implemented through a labor management agreement negotiated separate and apart from any collective bargaining agreement covering affected employees.

(h) “Peer support team” means a team or teams composed of emergency service personnel, hospital staff, clergy, and educators who have completed a peer support training course developed pursuant to Section 8669.30, and who have been appointed to the team pursuant to program policy.

(i) “Peer support team member” means a public fire agency employee who has completed an approved peer support training course or courses pursuant to Section 8669.30. Agency selection criteria for peer support team members shall be incorporated into program policies.

(Added by Stats. 2019, Ch. 388, Sec. 2. (AB 1116) Effective January 1, 2020.)