DNR Volunteer Fire Assistance Grants

A guest post by LMCIT Public Safety Specialist Troy Walsh

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has announced grants available to assist volunteer fire departments. The Volunteer Fire Assistance Grant Program features 50:50 matching grants. It provides financial and technical assistance to Minnesota fire departments that protect cities or communities with a population under 10,000.

Priority is given to fire departments that have the greatest need and participate in a Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP), or a county all-hazard mitigation plan. Additional considerations include the type of project, fire runs, and number of previous years funded. Examples of acceptable projects include reorganizing an inactive fire department, converting federal excess property vehicles to fire control rigs, communications equipment (warning systems, pagers, radios, etc.), personal safety equipment, fire equipment, and rural water storage systems.

Guest blogger Troy Walsh

Applications will be accepted until June 1, 2021. For full details about the program — including eligibility requirements, acceptable project examples, grant application form, and how to apply — please see this information from the DNR. 

If you have any questions regarding this grant, you may contact Troy via email at twalsh@lmc.org or by phone at (651) 281-1231. 

Remember: Responder Safety = Public Safety

Up next: Free Naloxone Kits 

In the meantime, stay safe and be careful -
Troy

Request for Proposals: Pohlad Family Foundation Reimagining Public Safety Program

In an effort to address police reform and the ever-growing need to support public safety initiatives that re-imagine and pivot toward new, sustainable approaches across the country, the Pohlad Family Foundation has announced a new funding opportunity: “Reducing Harm Through Collaborative Solutions.”

The Pohlad Family Foundation is partnering with the National League of Cities (NLC) to offer a Request for Proposals (RFP). Applications are open now and must be submitted by May 14, 2021. This opportunity provides grant funding and tailored technical assistance to tribal, city, and county governments in the seven-county Twin Cities area that are working to improve public safety and wellbeing for Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) communities.

Funding is offered as part of the Foundation’s Reimagining Public Safety program in order to achieve three goals:

1. Innovate and transform traditional approaches to public safety;
2. Reduce the occurrence and severity of negative encounters between law enforcement and the community; and
3. Actively confront racial disparities and history of racism to improve safety, trust, and greater wellbeing for BIPOC communities.

The Collaborative Solutions RFP is informed by the State of Minnesota Working Group on Police-Involved Deadly Force Encounters, convened by Attorney General Keith Ellison and Commissioner of Public Safety John Harrington in 2019. The funding opportunity will help implement the recommendations of the Working Group at a city and county level while enabling these communities to expand efforts toward broader and more equitable public safety. 

Proposals are welcome that would establish racial equity efforts and community partnerships, as well as those that are scaling up efforts. Priority will be given to proposals that demonstrate a long-term commitment to racial justice in public safety through collaborative solutions with community partners.

Please visit pohladfoundation.org for complete information about the RFP, including eligibility and criteria. You may contact Program Director Brian Paulson at bpaulson@pohladfoundation.org with questions specific to the RFP.

You may also contact me at tstille@lmc.org or (651) 215-4051 for additional information, including proposal criteria and guidance on how to apply.

Remember:  Responder Safety = Public Safety

Up next: DNR Volunteer Fire Assistance Grants

In the meantime, stay safe and be careful -
Tracy

Police Officer Physical Abilities Testing

Under Minnesota Rule 6700.0700 Subp.1 (J), the Minnesota Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST) Board requires that a new police officer must pass a job-related test of physical strength and agility prior to being hired. 

What is required for a police officer physical abilities test?

The rule is quite vague, and it does not state that an applicant has to run a mile, do sit-ups or push-ups, or bench press a certain weight. It only states that the test be “job-related.” Cities may require an applicant to meet their rigid standards of strength and agility, although cities need to be aware of discrimination and liability issues when requiring these tests. 

In addition to a test having to be job-related, court rulings on pre-hire testing have ruled that the testing must meet the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin), and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) guidelines. 

Why does police officer physical abilities testing matter?

Because it's good for the officer and good for your city. A police officer’s physical abilities not only impact your city's workers’ compensation claims in terms of fewer injuries, the severity of an officer’s injuries, an officer’s mental health, and the time it takes to recover from an injury, but use of force and related liability claims as well. Simply put, it is important for police officers to be physically fit — and healthy police officers make good decisions.

How are we helping cities with police officer physical abilities testing?

The League of Minnesota Cities recently collaborated with the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association, the Minnesota POST Board, and a number of police departments that were seeking guidance, to form a steering committee to research this topic and come up with a recommendation for our members. 

Our goal was to develop a reasonably priced, statewide, legally compliant, pre-employment, post-job-offer physical abilities test for police officer candidates and for officers that are returning to work following an injury. Additionally, we wanted to develop a physical abilities test that could be validated, administered by a neutral third party, be age- and gender-neutral, and have no disparate impact.   

The steering committee selected WorkSTEPS to develop and administer the validated tests. WorkSTEPS has a corporate relationship with NovaCare, who currently has 14 locations across the state. The police officer physical abilities tests we recommended were customized and consist of:

• A quarter-mile running test.
• A dummy drag and wrestle.
• A stair climb with a medical bag.
• A wall climb or obstacle scale.
• Lifting and carrying a weighted object.
• A test for postural tolerance and fine/gross motor skills. 
• Several minutes of administering CPR.
  

These physical tests are completed after a full musculoskeletal evaluation and medical history review with a trained clinician.

All of these tests were validated using police officers from our 24 validation sites across the state. The WorkSTEPS validation process has legal, ergonomic, and functional standards supported by recognized scientific research. 

What happens now with police officer physical abilities testing?

We now have a validated testing study that can be used for police officers pre-hire and for return to work following an injury, and this program has been rolled out statewide. WorkSTEPS will continue to monitor the testing and analyze the results, as we want to be sure there is no disparate impact on the applicants. We will also be monitoring the success of this program and revising the tests as feedback is received. This ongoing analysis is critical for the defensibility of the tests, and we have to be able to show that this is the standard for police officers.

To learn more about the importance of police officer physical fitness, read this article in the March-April 2021 issue of Minnesota Cities magazine.

If you have any questions about this new police officer physical abilities testing program — or are interested in taking part — see our webpage at www.lmc.org/fitness, email me at tstille@lmc.org, or give me a call at
(651) 215-4051. 

Remember:  Responder Safety = Public Safety

Up next: RFPs from the Pohlad Family Foundation Reimagining Public Safety Program

In the meantime, stay safe and be careful -
Tracy