(a) The SARATSO Training Committee shall be comprised of a representative of the State Department of State Hospitals, a representative of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, a representative of the Attorney General’s Office, and a representative of the Chief Probation Officers of California.
(b) On or before January 1, 2008, the SARATSO Training Committee, in consultation with the Corrections Standards Authority and the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, shall develop a training program for persons authorized by this code to administer the static SARATSO, as set forth in Section 290.04.
(c) (1) The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shall be responsible for overseeing the training of persons who will administer the static SARATSO pursuant to paragraph (1) or (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 290.06.
(2) The State Department of State Hospitals shall be responsible for overseeing the training of persons who will administer the static SARATSO pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 290.06.
(3) The Correction Standards Authority shall be responsible for developing standards for the training of persons who will administer the static SARATSO pursuant to paragraph (5) or (6) of subdivision (a) of Section 290.06.
(4) The Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training shall be responsible for developing standards for the training of persons who will administer the static SARATSO pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 290.06.
(d) The training shall be conducted by experts in the field of risk assessment and the use of actuarial instruments in predicting sex offender risk. Subject to requirements established by the committee, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the State Department of State Hospitals, probation departments, and authorized local law enforcement agencies shall designate key persons within their organizations to attend training and, as authorized by the department, to train others within their organizations designated to perform risk assessments as required or authorized by law. Any person who administers the static SARATSO shall receive training no less frequently than every two years.
(e) If the agency responsible for scoring the static SARATSO believes an individual score does not represent the person’s true risk level, based on factors in the offender’s record, the agency may submit the case to the experts retained by the SARATSO Review Committee to monitor the scoring of the SARATSO. Those experts shall be guided by empirical research in determining whether to raise or lower the risk level. Agencies that score the static SARATSO shall develop a protocol for submission of risk level override requests to the experts retained in accordance with this subdivision.
(f) The static SARATSO may be performed for purposes authorized by statute only by persons trained pursuant to this section. Persons who administer the dynamic SARATSO and the future violence SARATSO shall be trained to administer the dynamic and future violence SARATSO tools as required in Section 290.09. Probation officers or parole agents may be trained by SARATSO experts on the dynamic SARATSO tool and perform assessments on that tool only if authorized by the SARATSO Training Committee to do so after successful completion of training.
(Amended by Stats. 2012, Ch. 24, Sec. 16. (AB 1470) Effective June 27, 2012.)