102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
HB3911

 

Introduced 2/22/2021, by Rep. Frances Ann Hurley

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
5 ILCS 840/40 new

    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,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The First Responders Suicide Prevention Act is
5amended 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
9organizations guarantee access to mental health and wellness
10services, including, but not limited to, peer support programs
11and providing ongoing education related to the ever-evolving
12concept of mental health wellness. These recommendations could
13be 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16        (2) Urging health care providers to replace outdated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
4organizations sponsor or facilitate first responders with
5specialized training in the areas of psychological fitness,
6depressive disorders, early detection, and mitigation best
7practices. 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
4and leadership personnel solicit training services from
5evidence-based, data driven organizations. Organizations with
6personnel trained on the analytical review and interpretation
7of specific fields related to the nature of first responders'
8exploits, such as PTSD, substance abuse, chronic state of
9duress. Task Force members shall further recommend funding for
10expansion and messaging campaigns of preliminary
11self-diagnosing technologies like the one described above.
12These 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
16agencies and organizations incorporate the following training
17components into already existing modules and educational
18curriculums. Doing so could be done by:
19        (1) Bolstering academy and school curricula by
20requiring depressive disorder training catered to PTSD,
21substance abuse, and early detection techniques training,
22taking into close consideration respective agency or
23organization size, and the frequency and number of all current
24federal and state mandatory examinations and trainings
25expected 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.