Overview

The Santa Clara County Sheriff Search and Rescue Team offers an academy once per year, starting in August and ending in October. The purpose of the academy is to instruct prospective team members in the skills and techniques necessary to work as a basic team member. The academy covers search tactics, rope rescue, navigation, and other topics. Academy sessions are held weekly on a weekday evening, from 6:30 pm until 10:00 pm and on several weekend days. 

Our expected 2026 Academy Timeline is as follows:

- Apply by March 31, 2026

- Orientation and Interviews will occur April 2026

- Background checks will run May-July 2026

- Academy Runs: August - October 2026 

See 2026 Training Calendar

Prerequisites

Prospective members must attend one of two orientation sessions held prior to the start of the Academy, complete an application form, and attend an interview with current team members. 

Academy attendees must complete the POST Standard Personal History Questionnaire and undergo a thorough background check. Additionally, attendees must complete online courses in ICS 100, 200, and NIMS 700. These courses are taken as an independent online study at https://training.fema.gov/is/ prior to the first day of the Academy.

Additionally, Academy attendees must hold a current CPR for Healthcare Providers certification at the start of the Academy. Acceptable CPR certificates are:

• American Red Cross: "BLS/CPR for Healthcare Providers"

• American Heart Association: "CPR for the Healthcare Professional"

If you have a question as to whether your current certification is acceptable, please ask us.

Expectations

It is expected that academy members will attend all classroom and field instruction sessions. In addition to the in-class work, weekly reading assignments will be given, and some skills will have to be practiced regularly and on the prospective member's own time. In extreme cases, a prospective member may miss one session, but the prospective member must notify academy staff beforehand, and must make arrangements to "make up" the material covered.

During the course of the academy, prospective members will be required to purchase and use certain materials or equipment, including a textbook, specific helmet and rescue devices. Typical equipment costs can start at $300 and may run much higher, depending on what equipment is already owned. A complete equipment list will be provided to all prospective members at the beginning of the academy.  The class room texts are The Fundamentals of Search and Rescue (Jones and Bartlett, ISBN: 978-0763748074) and Using Your GPS with the Universal Transverse Mercator Map Coordinate System (Carnes).

While in the academy, prospective members must complete the team's fitness test, which is a 5 mile trail hike over steep terrain while carrying an appropriately sized backpack load.

Meet The Staff

The Santa Clara County Sheriff Search and Rescue Academy is taught by dedicated volunteers who have made a commitment to training prospective members. Some of the people you'll meet include:

JANAE CUBEIRO

Has been an active member of Santa Clara County Sheriff Search and Rescue since 2015.  With 18+ years in safety, security, and medical response, she enjoys supporting Search and Rescue in the field, as the team Training Officer, and as a trainer for the Search and Rescue Academy.  She is also a registered EMT with the county and enjoys training EMT students at the local college in her free time.

DAN CARLINO

Dan has been an active member of the Santa Clara County Sheriffs Search and Rescue team since 2018.  He has a working knowledge of the skills necessary to be an effective searcher in the field.  Dan has participated in Technical Search and Rescue situations resulting in subject find.  He enjoys sharing the knowledge he has acquired through training with other staff members.  Dan has a disciplined approach to training and his goal is to help train a safe, field-ready searcher that will be an asset to Search and Rescue.

KRIS BLACK

A long-time member of the SCCSSAR team, Kris, the Director, also serves with CARDA as a K9 handler.