Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of Public Act 102-0352
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Public Act 102-0352


 

Public Act 0352 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

  
  
  

 


 
Public Act 102-0352
 
HB3911 EnrolledLRB102 17082 CPF 22511 b

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        (2) Urging health care providers to replace outdated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

Effective Date: 6/1/2022