SB2057 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB096 11315 KTG 21748 b

96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2009 and 2010
SB2057

Introduced 2/20/2009, by Sen. Edward D. Maloney

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

New Act

Creates the Illinois Public Safety Special Needs Alert Program Act. Establishes the Special Needs Alert Program (SNAP) database to ensure persons with disabilities or special needs or both have the same access to public safety services as provided to all citizens. Requires public safety agencies to make reasonable efforts to publicize the SNAP database and provides how a family member or caregiver of a special needs person, or a special needs person themselves can enter emergency contact information into the SNAP database. Contains provisions concerning the verification of information entered into the database; the dissemination of emergency information entered into SNAP to other public safety agencies during an emergency 9-1-1 call; the confidentiality of information entered into SNAP; liability; defined terms; and other matters. Effective immediately.

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning public safety.

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 Illinois Public Safety Special Needs Alert Program Act.

Section 5. Purpose. It is the policy of the State of Illinois to ensure that consistently high levels of public safety services are available to all members of the State, including people who may require special consideration in order to access services. This program shall seek to afford people with disabilities or special needs or both the same access to public safety services provided to all citizens. It is the intent of this program to offer guidance and direction to public safety workers in responding to and assisting those people with special needs or disabilities or both with whom they will have contact in the performance of their duties and responsibilities. The ability to effectively deal with special needs individuals is enhanced with knowledge or information. The ability to identify special needs individuals, their places of employment, educational facilities, and residences are valuable resources in instances when or if an emergency response by law enforcement or fire protection personnel or both are needed.

Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:

"Disability" means an individual's physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities; a record of such impairment; or when the individual is regarded as having such an impairment.

"Special needs individuals" means those individuals who have or are at increased risk for a chronic physical, developmental, behavioral, or emotional condition and who also require health and related services of a type or amount beyond that required by individuals generally.

"Public safety agency" means a functional division of a public agency that provides firefighting, police, medical, or other emergency services.

"9-1-1 system" means a basic system, an enhanced 9-1-1 system, or public safety answering point.

"Basic system" means a telephone service which automatically connects a person dialing the digits 9-1-1 to an established public safety answering point through normal telephone service facilities.

"Enhanced 9-1-1" or "E9-1-1" means an emergency telephone system with specific electronically controlled features such as Automatic Location Information (ALI), Automatic Number Identification (ANI), or Selective Routing, and that uses the Master Street Address Guide (MSAG) geographic files.

"Public safety answering point" or "PSAP" or "Center" or "9-1-1 Center" means the initial answering location of a 9-1-1 call.

"Special Needs Alert Program" or "SNAP" means a database of individuals with special needs maintained by public safety agencies.

Section 15. Reporting of Special Needs Individuals.

(a) Public safety agencies shall make reasonable efforts to publicize the Special Needs Alert Program (SNAP) database. Means of publicizing the database include, but are not limited to, pamphlets and websites.

(b) Families, caregivers, or the individuals with disabilities or special needs may contact their local law enforcement agency or fire department or fire protection district.

(c) Public safety workers are to be cognitive of special needs individuals they may come across when they respond to calls. If workers are able to identify individuals who have special needs, they shall try to ascertain as specifically as possible what that special need might be. The public safety worker should attempt to verify the special need as provided in item (2) of subsection (d).

(d) The disabled individual's name, date of birth, phone number, and residential address or place of employment should also be obtained for possible entry into the SNAP database.

(1) Whenever possible, it is preferable that written permission is obtained from a parent, guardian, family member, or caregiver of the individual themselves prior to being entered into the SNAP database.

(2) No individual may be entered into a SNAP database unless the special need has been verified. Acceptable means of verifying a special need for purposes of this program shall include statements by:

(A) the individual,

(B) family members,

(C) friends,

(D) caregivers, or

(E) medical personnel familiar with the individual.

(e) For public safety agencies that share the same public safety answering point (PSAP), information collected by one agency serviced by the PSAP is to be disseminated to all agencies utilizing the common PSAP.

(f) Information received at an incorrect public safety agency shall be accepted and forwarded to the correct agency as soon as possible.

Section 20. Database entry fields. For agencies with enhanced 9-1-1 systems an individual's verified special needs information shall be entered into the auxiliary data field on the 9-1-1 screen for the individual's phone number. If a 9-1-1 call is generated from the residence or business, the individual's name, date of birth, and special need or disability shall be displayed.

Section 25. Provision of information to the field. When special needs information comes up in either a 9-1-1 system or a Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD), the telecommunicator shall relay that information to responding personnel.

Section 30. Confidentiality. The information gathered as part of SNAP shall remain strictly confidential. The information shall be used only to provide assistance to emergency medical and police responders. No public safety worker shall knowingly violate this confidentiality clause. Citizens who believe their health privacy rights have been violated may file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) via the Office of Civil Rights (OCR).

Section 35. Liability. Nothing in this Act shall be construed to create a duty of care or ground of liability for injury to persons or property.

Section 40. Citizen advisory. Citizens electing to participate in SNAP must be advised that the provision of special needs information will not result in preferential treatment.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.