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1 | AN ACT concerning State government.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, | ||||||
3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 5. The Children and Family Services Act is amended | ||||||
5 | by adding Section 21.6 as follows: | ||||||
6 | (20 ILCS 505/21.6 new) | ||||||
7 | Sec. 21.6. Front-line staff members; personal
protection | ||||||
8 | spray devices. | ||||||
9 | (a) As used in this Section: | ||||||
10 | "Front-line staff member" or "staff member" means an | ||||||
11 | individual who engages with families in their home settings. | ||||||
12 | "Personal protection spray device" means a commercially | ||||||
13 | available dispensing device designed and intended for use in | ||||||
14 | self-defense which is comprised of non-lethal Oleoresin | ||||||
15 | Capsicum and is specifically approved by the Department in | ||||||
16 | consultation with the Illinois State Police. | ||||||
17 | (b) A front-line staff member is
authorized to carry and | ||||||
18 | use personal protection spray devices for self-defense
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19 | purposes while investigating a report of child abuse or
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20 | neglect if the front-line staff member has been trained
on the | ||||||
21 | proper use of such personal protection spray devices by
the | ||||||
22 | Department, in
consultation with the Illinois State Police. By | ||||||
23 | January 1,
2023, the Department, in consultation with the |
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1 | Illinois State
Police, shall (i) identify a list of approved | ||||||
2 | personal protection spray devices and (ii) jointly develop and | ||||||
3 | approve a training curriculum and program for front-line staff | ||||||
4 | members on the proper use of such personal protection spray | ||||||
5 | devices for self-defense purposes. The Department shall
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6 | provide funding for the training program. | ||||||
7 | (c) Personal protection spray device use. A personal | ||||||
8 | protection spray device may only be used if a front-line staff | ||||||
9 | member: | ||||||
10 | (1) reasonably believes that use is necessary to | ||||||
11 | protect the staff member from an imminent physical assault | ||||||
12 | posed by another person; | ||||||
13 | (2) uses the device to incapacitate a person | ||||||
14 | attempting a physical assault in order to avoid imminent | ||||||
15 | physical harm and to facilitate escape from danger when | ||||||
16 | there is no other alternative available to the staff | ||||||
17 | member; | ||||||
18 | (3) uses a device approved by the Department, in | ||||||
19 | consultation with the Illinois State Police; | ||||||
20 | (4) except in exigent circumstances, has issued a | ||||||
21 | verbal warning to persons in close proximity to the spray | ||||||
22 | area in accordance with the training jointly developed by | ||||||
23 | the Department, in
consultation with the Illinois State | ||||||
24 | Police; | ||||||
25 | (5) does not intentionally spray any person other than | ||||||
26 | a person attempting to physically assault the front-line |
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1 | staff member; and | ||||||
2 | (6) has successfully completed training on how to use | ||||||
3 | the approved devices, de-escalation techniques, | ||||||
4 | pre-contact cues, and situation awareness. | ||||||
5 | A front-line staff member's use of personal protection | ||||||
6 | spray devices during the performance of his or her | ||||||
7 | professional duties in any manner other than as expressly | ||||||
8 | authorized under this Section shall be prohibited by | ||||||
9 | Department policy. Whenever a front-line staff member | ||||||
10 | discharges a personal protection spray device, the front-line | ||||||
11 | staff member shall complete an incident report. | ||||||
12 | (d) Duty to seek medical care for bystanders. Following | ||||||
13 | the discharge of a personal protection spray device that | ||||||
14 | results in exposure, the front-line staff member shall notify | ||||||
15 | his or her supervisor and, if appropriate, call 9-1-1 for | ||||||
16 | emergency response or responders as soon as reasonably | ||||||
17 | practical and when safe to do so. | ||||||
18 | (e) Reporting. Beginning January 1, 2024, and every | ||||||
19 | January 1 thereafter, the Department shall post on its website | ||||||
20 | a report containing the following information for the | ||||||
21 | preceding calendar year: (i) the number of front-line staff | ||||||
22 | members trained to carry personal protection spray devices; | ||||||
23 | (ii) the number of front-line staff members who report | ||||||
24 | carrying personal protection spray devices and the make or | ||||||
25 | model of the devices; and (iii) the number of reported uses of | ||||||
26 | personal protection spray devices by service region. In |
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1 | addition, the Department shall report each incident involving | ||||||
2 | the deployment of a personal protection spray device that | ||||||
3 | occurred during the preceding calendar year, including: | ||||||
4 | (1) the estimated age, gender, and race of the | ||||||
5 | intended target of the personal protection spray device; | ||||||
6 | (2) whether there were injuries to the intended target | ||||||
7 | resulting from the deployment of the personal protection | ||||||
8 | spray device; | ||||||
9 | (3) the age, gender, and race of the front-line staff | ||||||
10 | member who utilized the personal protection spray device; | ||||||
11 | and | ||||||
12 | (4) whether there were injuries to the front-line | ||||||
13 | staff member resulting from the incident. | ||||||
14 | The Department shall also report yearly data on the number | ||||||
15 | of personal protection spray device deployments found to be | ||||||
16 | against Department policy. | ||||||
17 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
18 | becoming law. |