(a) Unless otherwise provided, a person who works as a facilitator in a batterers’ intervention program that provides programs for batterers pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 1203.097 shall complete the following requirements before being eligible to work as a facilitator in a batterers’ intervention program:

(1) Forty hours of basic core training. A minimum of eight hours of this instruction shall be provided by a shelter-based or shelter-approved trainer. The core curriculum shall include the following components:

(A) A minimum of eight hours in basic domestic violence knowledge focusing on victim safety and the role of domestic violence shelters in a community-coordinated response.

(B) A minimum of eight hours in multicultural, cross-cultural, and multiethnic diversity and domestic violence.

(C) A minimum of four hours in substance abuse and domestic violence.

(D) A minimum of four hours in intake and assessment, including the history of violence and the nature of threats and substance abuse.

(E) A minimum of eight hours in group content areas focusing on gender roles and socialization, the nature of violence, the dynamics of power and control, and the effects of abuse on children and others as required by Section 1203.097.

(F) A minimum of four hours in group facilitation.

(G) A minimum of four hours in domestic violence and the law, ethics, all requirements specified by the probation department pursuant to Section 1203.097, and the role of batterers’ intervention programs in a coordinated-community response.

(H) Any person that provides documentation of coursework, or equivalent training, that he or she has satisfactorily completed, shall be exempt from that part of the training that was covered by the satisfactorily completed coursework.

(I) The coursework that this person performs shall count toward the continuing education requirement.

(2) Fifty-two weeks or no less than 104 hours in six months, as a trainee in an approved batterers’ intervention program with a minimum of a two-hour group each week. A training program shall include at least one of the following:

(A) Cofacilitation internship in which an experienced facilitator is present in the room during the group session.

(B) Observation by a trainer of the trainee conducting a group session via a one-way mirror.

(C) Observation by a trainer of the trainee conducting a group session via a video or audio recording.

(D) Consultation or supervision twice a week in a six-month program or once a week in a 52-week program.

(3) An experienced facilitator is one who has the following qualifications:

(A) Documentation on file, approved by the agency, evidencing that the experienced facilitator has the skills needed to provide quality supervision and training.

(B) Documented experience working with batterers for three years, and a minimum of two years working with batterers’ groups.

(C) Documentation by January 1, 2003, of coursework or equivalent training that demonstrates satisfactory completion of the 40-hour basic core training.

(b) A facilitator of a batterers’ intervention program shall complete, as a minimum continuing education requirement, 16 hours annually of continuing education in either domestic violence or a related field with a minimum of eight hours in domestic violence.

(c) A person or agency with a specific hardship may request the probation department, in writing, for an extension of time to complete the training or to complete alternative training options.

(d) (1) An experienced facilitator, as defined in paragraph (3) of subdivision (a), is not subject to the supervision requirements of this section, if he or she meets the requirements of subparagraph (C) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (a).

(2) This section does not apply to a person who provides batterers’ treatment through a jail education program if the person in charge of that program determines that the person providing treatment has adequate education or training in domestic violence or a related field.

(e) A person who satisfactorily completes the training requirements of a county probation department whose training program is equivalent to or exceeds the training requirements of this act shall be exempt from the training requirements of this act.

(Amended by Stats. 2010, Ch. 328, Sec. 165. (SB 1330) Effective January 1, 2011.)