From Response to Readiness
Line-of-duty deaths, mass-casualty events, pediatric fatalities, and serious injury or death to personnel are predictable exposures in public safety work.
Organizations already have important resources to support personnel afterward. Employee assistance programs, peer support teams, chaplains, and behavioral health resources provide expertise and support that no standard replaces. What has been missing is a consistent framework for what the organization itself does when a predictable exposure occurs—decided in advance, not at the moment of exposure.
For other recognized occupational hazards, organizations follow a familiar safety process: identify the hazard, evaluate the exposure, control the risk, and document what was done. Noise, chemical, and bloodborne-pathogen hazards are managed this way. Occupational psychological hazards warrant the same organizational discipline.
The FRBH National Standard does not create that responsibility. It provides a practical framework for applying established occupational safety principles to predictable occupational psychological exposure. FRBH-OPHP-003 is currently published as a Provisional Field-Test Edition.
Public comments are welcome at info@frbh.org.
EXPLORE THE STANDARD →
Organizations already have important resources to support personnel afterward. Employee assistance programs, peer support teams, chaplains, and behavioral health resources provide expertise and support that no standard replaces. What has been missing is a consistent framework for what the organization itself does when a predictable exposure occurs—decided in advance, not at the moment of exposure.
For other recognized occupational hazards, organizations follow a familiar safety process: identify the hazard, evaluate the exposure, control the risk, and document what was done. Noise, chemical, and bloodborne-pathogen hazards are managed this way. Occupational psychological hazards warrant the same organizational discipline.
The FRBH National Standard does not create that responsibility. It provides a practical framework for applying established occupational safety principles to predictable occupational psychological exposure. FRBH-OPHP-003 is currently published as a Provisional Field-Test Edition.
Public comments are welcome at info@frbh.org.
EXPLORE THE STANDARD →
A Safety Function, Not a Wellness Program
Occupational Psychological Hazard Protection (OPHP) is an organization safety function for managing predictable psychological exposure from the work itself.
It does not replace EAP, peer support, behavioral health providers, chaplaincy, CISM, occupational health, or other existing workforce protection capabilities. It does not diagnose employees, mandate treatment, measure an individual's psychological condition, or require personnel to participate in services.
Instead, OPHP strengthens the organizational system around the resources an organization already has. The distinction is important.
OPHP establishes the organizational structure around those resources; defining how exposure is recognized, when protection activates, who is responsible, and how the organization knows the system is working.
LEARN ABOUT OPHP →
It does not replace EAP, peer support, behavioral health providers, chaplaincy, CISM, occupational health, or other existing workforce protection capabilities. It does not diagnose employees, mandate treatment, measure an individual's psychological condition, or require personnel to participate in services.
Instead, OPHP strengthens the organizational system around the resources an organization already has. The distinction is important.
OPHP establishes the organizational structure around those resources; defining how exposure is recognized, when protection activates, who is responsible, and how the organization knows the system is working.
LEARN ABOUT OPHP →
Built on Familiar Occupational Safety Principles
Public safety organizations already manage foreseeable physical hazards systematically. The hazard is recognized. Criteria are established. Responsibility is assigned. Protective measures are defined. Performance is reviewed. OPHP applies that same organizational logic to predictable occupational psychological exposure.
The Standard requires organizations to establish:
☑ Governance and executive accountability;
☑ Documented criteria for qualifying exposure;
☑ A defined recognition and activation process;
☑ Coordination of existing workforce protection capabilities;
☑ Confidentiality and protection from reprisal;
☑ Leadership oversight and organizational evaluation; and
☑ Continual improvement and documented self-assessment.
The goal is not to create another behavioral health program. It is to create a reliable organizational process around a known occupational hazard.
LEARN ABOUT CONFORMITY →
The Standard requires organizations to establish:
☑ Governance and executive accountability;
☑ Documented criteria for qualifying exposure;
☑ A defined recognition and activation process;
☑ Coordination of existing workforce protection capabilities;
☑ Confidentiality and protection from reprisal;
☑ Leadership oversight and organizational evaluation; and
☑ Continual improvement and documented self-assessment.
The goal is not to create another behavioral health program. It is to create a reliable organizational process around a known occupational hazard.
LEARN ABOUT CONFORMITY →
Implementation Support at No Cost
Organizations do not have to figure this out alone. The FRBH National Technical Assistance Center (NTAC) provides general implementation support for the National Standard at no charge and on the same terms to every organization.
Ask FRBH™ — AI-assisted guidance, on demand
support@frbh.org — questions by email
1 (844) ASK-FRBH — to schedule a call
Implementation guidance, tools, self-evaluation resources, educational materials, and general technical assistance are available without charge. FRBH does not provide organization-specific consulting or determine whether an organization conforms.
VISIT NTAC →
Ask FRBH™ — AI-assisted guidance, on demand
support@frbh.org — questions by email
1 (844) ASK-FRBH — to schedule a call
Implementation guidance, tools, self-evaluation resources, educational materials, and general technical assistance are available without charge. FRBH does not provide organization-specific consulting or determine whether an organization conforms.
VISIT NTAC →
Designed for Public Safety
The National Standard establishes profession-neutral organizational expectations for public safety organizations whose personnel encounter predictable occupational psychological exposure in the course of duty.
🚒 Fire Service
🚑 Emergency Medical Services (EMS)
🚔 Law Enforcement
📞 Public Safety Communications / Dispatch
🔒 Corrections
🌲 Wildland Fire
🌪️ Emergency Management
🏛️ Federal Public Safety Organizations
The Standard applies to exposed personnel regardless of sworn status, employment classification, or whether their role is field-based.
VIEW FAQ →
🚒 Fire Service
🚑 Emergency Medical Services (EMS)
🚔 Law Enforcement
📞 Public Safety Communications / Dispatch
🔒 Corrections
🌲 Wildland Fire
🌪️ Emergency Management
🏛️ Federal Public Safety Organizations
The Standard applies to exposed personnel regardless of sworn status, employment classification, or whether their role is field-based.
VIEW FAQ →
SCOPE NOTICE: The American Board of First Responder Behavioral Healthcare is an independent nonprofit standards-development organization. It establishes and maintains the FRBH National Standard for Occupational Psychological Hazard Protection and supports implementation through the National Technical Assistance Center. FRBH does not perform conformity assessment, certification, or accreditation of any organization and does not operate such a program. FRBH does not provide clinical care, prescribe treatment, regulate behavioral healthcare services, provide organization-specific implementation or readiness consulting, accredit healthcare providers, or evaluate individual workforce mental health conditions.