Full Text of HB3911 102nd General Assembly
HB3911 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022 HB3911 Introduced 2/22/2021, by Rep. Frances Ann Hurley SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
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Amends the First Responders Suicide Prevention Act. Provides that the First Responders Suicide Prevention Task Force shall make specified recommendations to specified entities.
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| | | FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY | |
| | A BILL FOR |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning government.
| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 | | Section 5. The First Responders Suicide Prevention Act is | 5 | | amended by adding Section 40 as follows: | 6 | | (5 ILCS 840/40 new) | 7 | | Sec. 40. Task Force recommendations. | 8 | | (a) Task Force members shall recommend that agencies and | 9 | | organizations guarantee access to mental health and wellness | 10 | | services, including, but not limited to, peer support programs | 11 | | and providing ongoing education related to the ever-evolving | 12 | | concept of mental health wellness. These recommendations could | 13 | | be accomplished by: | 14 | | (1) Revamping agencies and organizations employee | 15 | | assistance programs (EAPs). | 16 | | (2) Urging health care providers to replace outdated | 17 | | healthcare plans and include more progressive options | 18 | | catering to the needs and abnormal risks shouldered by our | 19 | | first responders. | 20 | | (3) Allocating funding for public service | 21 | | announcements (PSA) and messaging campaigns aimed at | 22 | | raising awareness of available assistance options. | 23 | | (4) Encouraging agencies and organizations to attach |
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| 1 | | lists of all available resources to training manuals and | 2 | | continuing education requirements. | 3 | | (b) Task Force members shall recommend agencies and | 4 | | organizations sponsor or facilitate first responders with | 5 | | specialized training in the areas of psychological fitness, | 6 | | depressive disorders, early detection, and mitigation best | 7 | | practices. Such trainings could be accomplished by: | 8 | | (1) Assigning, appointing, or designating one member | 9 | | of an agency or organization to attend specialized | 10 | | training(s) sponsored by an accredited agency, | 11 | | association, or organization recognized in their fields of | 12 | | study. | 13 | | (2) Seeking sponsorships or conducting fund-raisers, | 14 | | to host annual or semiannual on-site visits from qualified | 15 | | clinicians or physicians to provide early detection | 16 | | training techniques, or to provide regular access to | 17 | | mental health professionals. | 18 | | (3) Requiring a minimum number of hours of disorders | 19 | | and wellness training be incorporated into reoccurring, | 20 | | annual or biannual training standards, examinations, and | 21 | | curriculums, taking into close consideration respective | 22 | | agency or organization size, frequency and number of all | 23 | | current federal and state mandatory examinations and | 24 | | trainings expected respectively. | 25 | | (4) Not underestimating the crucial importance of a | 26 | | balanced diet, sleep, meditation, and recreational |
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| 1 | | hobbies, which have been scientifically proven to play a | 2 | | major role in the human psyche. | 3 | | (c) Task Force members shall recommend that administrators | 4 | | and leadership personnel solicit training services from | 5 | | evidence-based, data driven organizations. Organizations with | 6 | | personnel trained on the analytical review and interpretation | 7 | | of specific fields related to the nature of first responders' | 8 | | exploits, such as PTSD, substance abuse, chronic state of | 9 | | duress. Task Force members shall further recommend funding for | 10 | | expansion and messaging campaigns of preliminary | 11 | | self-diagnosing technologies like the one described above. | 12 | | These objectives could be met by: | 13 | | (1) Contacting an accredited agency, association, or | 14 | | organization recognized in the field or fields of specific | 15 | | study. Unbeknownst to the majority, many of the agencies | 16 | | and organizations listed above receive grants and | 17 | | allocations to assist communities with the very issues | 18 | | being discussed in this Section. | 19 | | (2) Normalizing help-seeking behaviors for both first | 20 | | responders and their families through regular messaging | 21 | | and peer support outreach, beginning with academy | 22 | | curricula and continuing education throughout individuals' | 23 | | careers. | 24 | | (3) Funding and implementing PSA campaigns that | 25 | | provide clear and concise calls to action about mental | 26 | | health and wellness, resiliency, help-seeking, treatment |
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| 1 | | and recovery. | 2 | | (4) Promoting and raising awareness of non-for-profit | 3 | | organizations currently available to assist individuals in | 4 | | search of care and treatment. Organizations have intuitive | 5 | | user-friendly sites, most of which have mobile | 6 | | applications, so first responders can access at a moment's | 7 | | notice. However, because of limited funds, these | 8 | | organizations have a challenging time of getting the word | 9 | | out there about their existence. | 10 | | (5) Expanding Family and Medical Leave Act protections | 11 | | for individuals voluntarily seeking preventative | 12 | | treatment. | 13 | | (6) Promoting and ensuring complete patient | 14 | | confidentiality protections. | 15 | | (d) Task Force members shall recommend that agencies | 16 | | agencies and organizations incorporate the following training | 17 | | components into already existing modules and educational | 18 | | curriculums. Doing so could be done by: | 19 | | (1) Bolstering academy and school curricula by | 20 | | requiring depressive disorder training catered to PTSD, | 21 | | substance abuse, and early detection techniques training, | 22 | | taking into close consideration respective agency or | 23 | | organization size, and the frequency and number of all current | 24 | | federal and state mandatory examinations and trainings | 25 | | expected respectively. | 26 | | (2) Continuing to allocate or match federal and state |
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| 1 | | funds to maintain Mobil Training Units (MTUs). | 2 | | (3) Incorporating a state certificate for peer support | 3 | | training into already exiting statewide curriculums and | 4 | | mandatory examinations, annual State Fire Marshal | 5 | | examinations, and physical fitness examinations. The | 6 | | subject matter of the certificate should have an emphasis | 7 | | on mental health and wellness, as well as familiarization | 8 | | with topics ranging from clinical social work, clinical | 9 | | psychology, clinical behaviorist, and clinical psychiatry. | 10 | | (4) Incorporating and performing statewide mental | 11 | | health check-ins during the same times as already mandated | 12 | | trainings. These checks are not to be compared or used as | 13 | | measures of fitness for duty evaluations or structured | 14 | | psychological examinations. | 15 | | (5) Recommending sophisticated trainings on the | 16 | | importance of preventative measures on the topics of | 17 | | sleep, nutrition, mindfulness and movement. | 18 | | (6) Law enforcement agencies should provide training | 19 | | on the Firearm Owner's Identification Card Act, including | 20 | | seeking relief from the Illinois State Police under | 21 | | Section 10 of the Firearm Owners Identification Card Act | 22 | | and a FOID card being a continued condition of employment | 23 | | under Section 7.2 of the Uniform Peace Officers' | 24 | | Disciplinary Act.
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