SB1851 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB104 02922 AWJ 12938 b

104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
SB1851

Introduced 2/5/2025, by Sen. Mary Edly-Allen

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

New Act
30 ILCS 105/5.1030 new

Creates the Emergency Co-Response Grant Act. Provides that the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority shall, subject to appropriation, make grants to law enforcement departments to establish or maintain a co-response unit. Defines terms, including "co-response unit" to mean a unit of a law enforcement department featuring a specially trained team focused on de-escalation that includes at least one law enforcement officer and at least one clinician or trained civilian directly dispatched to emergency calls in which a behavioral health crisis is likely to be involved. Establishes requirements for applications for grants and use of grant moneys from the Emergency Co-Response Grant Fund. Requires each law enforcement department receiving a grant under the Act to submit a report to the General Assembly, the Governor, and the Agency, which shall also be posted on each law enforcement department's website, after July 1, 2031 but before January 1, 2032 on the programmatic and fiscal savings associated with co-response units, key conclusions, populations served, the benefits conferred or realized, and resulting policy recommendations to provide guidance to the General Assembly, the Governor, and the Agency in fully implementing and scaling permanent units. Requires joint adoption of rules to implement the Act, including requirements for law enforcement department co-response units receiving grants under the Act. Repeals the Act on January 1, 2033. Amends the State Finance Act creating the Emergency Co-Response Grant Fund. Effective immediately.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning local government.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Emergency Co-Response Grant Act.

Section 5. Purpose. The purpose of this Act is to establish a grant program in order to provide and strengthen community-based alternatives to law enforcement response during crisis situations not related to a fire department or emergency medical service response in communities where there is a history and pattern of racial profiling, law enforcement violence, or gaps in law enforcement service and in communities where vulnerable populations live, including people of color, elderly people, people with disabilities, people who are gender nonconforming, people who are likely to face disproportionate police contact, people who are formerly incarcerated, people with immigration status issues, people who are unhoused, people facing mental health crises, people involved in intimate partner violence, vulnerable youth, people likely to be engaged in community violence, people challenged by substance abuse, and people living in areas that are environmentally insecure with vulnerable populations that are subject to natural or climate disasters or public health emergencies.

Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:

"Agency" means the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority.

"Co-response unit" means a unit of a law enforcement department featuring a specially trained team focused on de-escalation that includes at least one law enforcement officer and at least one clinician or trained civilian directly dispatched to emergency calls in which a behavioral health crisis is likely to be involved.

"Law enforcement department" means a county police department, municipal police department, or sheriff's office. "Law enforcement department" does not include a police department with a co-responder program operating under Division 1.5 of Article 11 of the Illinois Municipal Code.

Section 15. Application for a grant. The Agency shall develop a grant application form that a law enforcement department shall use to apply for a grant under this Act. The Agency shall consult with the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation and the Illinois Law Enforcement Training Standards Board in the development of the form. The grant application form developed by the Agency shall require the applicant to describe, at a minimum, the following:

(1) the law enforcement department's goals in creating a co-response unit, such as providing clinical support on the scene, conducting screening and assessments, reviewing what is known about client history, and navigating and referring to community resources;

(2) the personnel who will be involved in the co-response unit in addition to a law enforcement officer, such as clinicians, including social workers or mental healthcare professionals, or trained civilians, including peer support staff, peer support specialists, or peer recovery coaches with lived experiences of mental illness, substance use disorders, or justice involvement;

(3) whether any type of proactive follow-up support will be provided to encourage client service and treatment engagement;

(4) whether the co-response unit or a part of the co-response unit will be targeted to intervene with specific issues, such as homelessness, human trafficking, or substance abuse;

(5) whether the co-response unit will be integrated with 9-1-1 and 9-8-8 calls and any other dispatch call centers;

(6) whether the co-response unit will be available either 24 hours a day, 7 days a week or during peak call hours;

(7) the initial and continuing training the co-response unit's staff will undergo, such as training about mental illness, information sharing, special populations, the use of force, naloxone administration, and team building and training behavioral health staff in the unique working conditions and demands of law enforcement;

(8) the detailed policies and procedures of the law enforcement department that ensure and formalize coordination, access to services, communication, and consistency within the co-response unit;

(9) the standards of work of the co-response unit, such as client release of information, core intake information, standard data points, and tracking;

(10) the type of follow-up that the co-response unit will provide to individuals in the community;

(11) the manner in which law enforcement department or co-response unit will consult with local emergency services personnel and community-based or grassroots organizations for input and potential ap proaches on issues related to emergency response; and

(12) any other requirements established by the Agency.

Section 20. Awarding grants; Emergency Co-Response Grant Fund.

(a) The Emergency Co-Response Grant Fund is created as a special fund in the State treasury for the purpose of providing a source of funds for the Agency to make grants to law enforcement departments for the establishment and maintenance of co-response units.

(b) Subject to appropriation to the Emergency Co-Response Grant Fund, the Agency shall make grants to law enforcement departments to establish or maintain co-response units.

(c) A law enforcement department receiving a grant from the Emergency Co-Response Grant Fund under this Act shall use the moneys from the grant to stimulate and support involvement in emergency response activities of a co-response unit, including any of the following:

(1) Co-response unit planning and community engagement.

(2) Co-response unit implementation.

(3) Co-response unit staffing, subject to the requirement that grantees adhere to all applicable laws relating to scope of practice, licensure, and certification.

(4) Co-response unit facilities, subject to the requirement that the facilities are to be used by the grantee .

(5) Co-response unit operational costs, including, but not limited to, startup or expansion, marketing, language translation, and transportation costs.

(6) Consulting services for a co-response unit.

(7) Co-response unit staff training.

(8) Co-response unit evaluation, including, but not limited to, evaluation of program and project efficacy, staff performance, and service delivery.

(9) Up to 50% of the salaries of social workers or behavioral and mental health staff of the co-response unit, regardless of whether those social workers or behavioral and mental health workers are employed by a community organization or the law enforcement department.

Section 25. Reports. Each law enforcement department receiving a grant under this Act shall submit a report to the General Assembly, the Governor, and the Agency, which shall also be posted on each law enforcement department's website, after July 1, 2031 but before January 1, 2032 on the programmatic and fiscal savings associated with co-response units, key conclusions, populations served, the benefits conferred or realized, and resulting policy recommendations to provide guidance to the General Assembly, Governor, and Agency in fully implementing and scaling permanent units.

Section 30. Rules. The Agency shall adopt rules to implement this Act after consultation with the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation and the Illinois Law Enforcement Training Standards Board, including requirements for law enforcement department co-response units receiving grants under this Act.

Section 35. Repeal. This Act is repealed on January 1, 2033.

Section 100. The State Finance Act is amended by adding Section 5.1030 as follows:

(30 ILCS 105/5.1030 new)

Sec. 5.1030. The Emergency Co-Response Grant Fund.

Section 999. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.