Rep. Lindsey LaPointe

Filed: 4/4/2022

 

 


 

 


 
10200HB1321ham001LRB102 03336 AWJ 38566 a

1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 1321

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 1321 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4    "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the First
5Responder Mental Health Grant Program Act.
 
6    Section 5. Legislative intent.
7    (a) The General Assembly recognizes the difficult nature
8of the job of first responder, including trauma endured by
9first responders in the performance of their duties.
10    (b) It is the intent of the General Assembly to ensure that
11first responders, including police, firefighters, emergency
12medical technicians, and public safety telecommunicators
13across this State have full access to supportive and
14responsive behavioral health services and treatment.
15    (c) The General Assembly recognizes that these services
16should be responsive to the individual's needs and must be

 

 

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1kept confidential.
2    (d) The General Assembly recognizes that the
3administration and provision of these services both recognize
4and reduce the historical barrier of stigma and a lack of
5confidentiality that first responders face when attempting to
6access behavioral health services and treatment.
 
7    Section 10. Definitions. In this Act:
8    "Behavioral health" means mental health, health relating
9to substance use, or both.
10    "Behavioral health care" means services, treatment,
11medication, and other measures to overcome, mitigate, or
12prevent a behavioral health issue. These services, treatment,
13medication, and other measures qualify as "behavioral health
14care" even if there is no formal diagnosis of a specific
15condition.
16    "Department" means the Department of Human Services.
17    "First responder" means a law enforcement officer,
18firefighter, emergency medical services personnel as defined
19in Section 3.5 of the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Systems
20Act, or public safety telecommunicator as defined in Section 2
21of the Emergency Telephone Systems Act.
22    "Record" means any record kept by a therapist or by an
23agency in the course of providing behavioral health care to a
24first responder concerning the first responder and the
25services provided. "Record" includes the personal notes of the

 

 

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1therapist or agency. "Record" includes all records maintained
2by a court that have been created in connection with, in
3preparation for, or as a result of the filing of any petition
4or certificate under Chapter II, Chapter III, or Chapter IV of
5the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code and
6includes the petitions, certificates, dispositional reports,
7treatment plans, and reports of diagnostic evaluations and of
8hearings under Article VIII of Chapter III or under Article V
9of Chapter IV of that Code. "Record" does not include
10information that has been de-identified in accordance with
11HIPAA, as specified in 45 CFR 164.514. "Record" does not
12include a reference to the receipt of behavioral health care
13noted during a patient history and physical or other summary
14of care.
 
15    Section 15. First Responder Behavioral Health Grant
16Program.
17    (a) Subject to appropriation, there is created within the
18Department of Human Services a First Responder Behavioral
19Health Grant Program to provide grants to the following
20recipients:
21        (1) units of local government;
22        (2) law enforcement agencies;
23        (3) fire protection districts;
24        (4) school districts;
25        (5) public or private hospitals; or

 

 

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1        (6) ambulance services that employ first responders.
2    (b) There is created a First Responder Behavioral Health
3Grant Fund in the State treasury that shall be used by the
4Secretary of Human Services to make grants to the eligible
5recipients as provided in subsection (a).
6    (c) Recipients eligible for grants under this Section
7shall use the grants for expenses related to behavioral health
8care services for first responders, including, but not limited
9to, telehealth services. An employer may not reduce behavioral
10health care provided through a first responder's employee
11benefit package as a result of the receipt of grant funds under
12this Act.
13    (d) All records, notes, and conclusions by a treatment
14provider providing behavioral health care to first responders
15whose employers receive grants under this Act shall not be
16shared with the employer unless otherwise mandated by law.
17    (e) Applicants seeking grants under this Act shall apply
18to the Department in a form and manner prescribed by the
19Department.
20    (f) The Department may adopt any rules necessary to
21implement this Act.
 
22    Section 80. The Illinois Police Training Act is amended by
23changing Section 6 and adding Section 6.8 as follows:
 
24    (50 ILCS 705/6)  (from Ch. 85, par. 506)

 

 

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1    Sec. 6. Powers and duties of the Board; selection and
2certification of schools. The Board shall select and certify
3schools within the State of Illinois for the purpose of
4providing basic training for probationary law enforcement
5officers, probationary county corrections officers, and court
6security officers and of providing advanced or in-service
7training for permanent law enforcement officers or permanent
8county corrections officers, which schools may be either
9publicly or privately owned and operated. In addition, the
10Board has the following power and duties:
11        a. To require law enforcement agencies to furnish such
12    reports and information as the Board deems necessary to
13    fully implement this Act.
14        b. To establish appropriate mandatory minimum
15    standards relating to the training of probationary local
16    law enforcement officers or probationary county
17    corrections officers, and in-service training of permanent
18    law enforcement officers.
19        c. To provide appropriate certification to those
20    probationary officers who successfully complete the
21    prescribed minimum standard basic training course.
22        d. To review and approve annual training curriculum
23    for county sheriffs.
24        e. To review and approve applicants to ensure that no
25    applicant is admitted to a certified academy unless the
26    applicant is a person of good character and has not been

 

 

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1    convicted of, found guilty of, entered a plea of guilty
2    to, or entered a plea of nolo contendere to a felony
3    offense, any of the misdemeanors in Sections 11-1.50,
4    11-6, 11-6.5, 11-6.6, 11-9.1, 11-9.1B, 11-14, 11-14.1,
5    11-30, 12-2, 12-3.2, 12-3.4, 12-3.5, 16-1, 17-1, 17-2,
6    26.5-1, 26.5-2, 26.5-3, 28-3, 29-1, any misdemeanor in
7    violation of any Section of Part E of Title III of the
8    Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012, or
9    subsection (a) of Section 17-32 of the Criminal Code of
10    1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012, or Section 5 or 5.2 of
11    the Cannabis Control Act, or a crime involving moral
12    turpitude under the laws of this State or any other state
13    which if committed in this State would be punishable as a
14    felony or a crime of moral turpitude, or any felony or
15    misdemeanor in violation of federal law or the law of any
16    state that is the equivalent of any of the offenses
17    specified therein. The Board may appoint investigators who
18    shall enforce the duties conferred upon the Board by this
19    Act.
20        For purposes of this paragraph e, a person is
21    considered to have been convicted of, found guilty of, or
22    entered a plea of guilty to, plea of nolo contendere to
23    regardless of whether the adjudication of guilt or
24    sentence is withheld or not entered thereon. This includes
25    sentences of supervision, conditional discharge, or first
26    offender probation, or any similar disposition provided

 

 

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1    for by law.
2        f. To establish statewide minimum standards regarding:
3    (1) psychological screenings of recruit officers hired
4    after the standards go into effect and annual
5    psychological screenings of probationary and permanent
6    officers; and (2) regular, confidential mental health
7    counseling for probationary and permanent police officers
8    in addition to the mental health counseling related to an
9    officer's fitness for duty examinations To establish
10    statewide standards for minimum standards regarding
11    regular mental health screenings for probationary and
12    permanent police officers, ensuring that counseling
13    sessions and screenings remain confidential.
14        g. To review and ensure all law enforcement officers
15    remain in compliance with this Act, and any administrative
16    rules adopted under this Act.
17        h. To suspend any certificate for a definite period,
18    limit or restrict any certificate, or revoke any
19    certificate.
20        i. The Board and the Panel shall have power to secure
21    by its subpoena and bring before it any person or entity in
22    this State and to take testimony either orally or by
23    deposition or both with the same fees and mileage and in
24    the same manner as prescribed by law in judicial
25    proceedings in civil cases in circuit courts of this
26    State. The Board and the Panel shall also have the power to

 

 

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1    subpoena the production of documents, papers, files,
2    books, documents, and records, whether in physical or
3    electronic form, in support of the charges and for
4    defense, and in connection with a hearing or
5    investigation.
6        j. The Executive Director, the administrative law
7    judge designated by the Executive Director, and each
8    member of the Board and the Panel shall have the power to
9    administer oaths to witnesses at any hearing that the
10    Board is authorized to conduct under this Act and any
11    other oaths required or authorized to be administered by
12    the Board under this Act.
13        k. In case of the neglect or refusal of any person to
14    obey a subpoena issued by the Board and the Panel, any
15    circuit court, upon application of the Board and the
16    Panel, through the Illinois Attorney General, may order
17    such person to appear before the Board and the Panel give
18    testimony or produce evidence, and any failure to obey
19    such order is punishable by the court as a contempt
20    thereof. This order may be served by personal delivery, by
21    email, or by mail to the address of record or email address
22    of record.
23        l. The Board shall have the power to administer state
24    certification examinations. Any and all records related to
25    these examinations, including, but not limited to, test
26    questions, test formats, digital files, answer responses,

 

 

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1    answer keys, and scoring information shall be exempt from
2    disclosure.
3(Source: P.A. 101-187, eff. 1-1-20; 101-652, Article 10,
4Section 10-143, eff. 7-1-21; 101-652, Article 25, Section
525-40, eff. 1-1-22; 102-687, eff. 12-17-21; 102-694, eff.
61-7-22.)
 
7    (50 ILCS 705/6.8 new)
8    Sec. 6.8. Statewide minimum standards; psychological
9screenings; mental health counseling.
10    (a) The statewide minimum standards established by the
11Board under paragraph f of Section 6 relating to psychological
12screenings and mental health counseling shall require, at a
13minimum, all of the following:
14        (1) The standards shall require a law enforcement
15    agency to perform a psychological screening on each
16    recruit officer hired after the standards are in effect.
17    The screening shall include an examination of personality
18    traits that support resilience to the adverse environment
19    in which law enforcement officers respond. The screening
20    protocols shall focus on assessment tools to assess the
21    overall resiliency of officers so as to take a proactive
22    response to the psychological health of the law
23    enforcement community.
24        (2) The standards shall require a law enforcement
25    agency to conduct a psychological screening of each new

 

 

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1    recruit officer immediately before and after returning
2    from basic training school. These screenings shall
3    identify the general growth and development of the
4    recruit. If concerns are raised as to the health of the
5    recruit, more specific testing and education on officer
6    resilience shall be recommended.
7        (3) The standards shall require a law enforcement
8    agency to conduct a psychological screening of each
9    probationary and permanent officer at least once annually,
10    and those screenings shall also be used to evaluate the
11    overall mental health of personnel and employees of the
12    agency. These annual screenings shall be general and brief
13    but allow for more detailed questions to be asked if
14    certain metrics specified by the Board are displayed, such
15    as a majority or substantial number of responses
16    indicating the negative impact of lateral trauma, signs of
17    depression or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or other
18    negative outcomes related to the officer's career.
19        (4) The standards shall require a law enforcement
20    agency to keep all psychological screenings confidential.
21    Responses to all screening questions shall remain either
22    anonymous or confidential when conducted internally by the
23    employing law enforcement agency. These screenings shall
24    not be used for any fitness or promotional matters. If an
25    anonymous screening of an officer reveals items of serious
26    concern, the law enforcement agency may not attempt to

 

 

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1    ascertain the identity of the responding officer.
2        (5) The standards shall require a law enforcement
3    agency to consider partnering with one or more third-party
4    vendors to conduct and follow up on these screenings.
5    Agencies shall also consider partnering with a third-party
6    vendor to provide overall follow up of trends that may be
7    identified by the screening outcomes to improve officer
8    wellness and wellness of the law enforcement agency.
9        (6) The standards shall require a law enforcement
10    agency to make available critical incident stress
11    management counselors or counseling options to
12    probationary and permanent officers and shall require the
13    law enforcement agency to encourage officers to attend
14    sessions with a critical incident stress management
15    counselor and the law enforcement agency shall ensure that
16    there is not any stigma, negative consequences, or added
17    financial burden for an officer attending critical
18    incident stress counseling sessions, either socially or
19    professionally, to the best of the law enforcement
20    agency's ability.
21    (b) Records of psychological screenings and mental health
22counseling sessions, as well as any portions of documents
23referencing the psychological screenings or mental health
24counseling sessions that contain a personally identifiable
25information of an officer who underwent the screening or
26counseling session, are exempt from disclosure under the

 

 

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1Freedom of Information Act.
 
2    Section 90. The State Finance Act is amended by adding
3Section 5.970 as follows:
 
4    (30 ILCS 105/5.970 new)
5    Sec. 5.970. The First Responder Behavioral Health Grant
6Fund.".