Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of SB1491

SB1491 Enrolled LRB104 05067 RTM 15095 b

AN ACT concerning local government.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Illinois Police Training Act is amended by changing Section 10.17 as follows:

(50 ILCS 705/10.17)

Sec. 10.17. Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) intervention team training; mental health awareness training; certified therapy dog team training and certification.

(a) The Illinois Law Enforcement Training Standards Board shall develop and approve a standard curriculum for certified training programs in crisis intervention, including a specialty certification course of at least 40 hours, addressing specialized policing responses to people with mental illnesses. The Board shall conduct Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training programs that train officers to identify signs and symptoms of mental illness, to de-escalate situations involving individuals who appear to have a mental illness, and connect that person in crisis to treatment. Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training programs shall be a collaboration between law enforcement professionals, mental health providers, families, and consumer advocates and must minimally include the following components: (1) basic information about mental illnesses and how to recognize them; (2) information about mental health laws and resources; (3) learning from family members of individuals with mental illness and their experiences; and (4) verbal de-escalation training and role-plays. Officers who have successfully completed this program shall be issued a certificate attesting to their attendance of a Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training program.

(b) The Board shall create an introductory course incorporating adult learning models that provides law enforcement officers with an awareness of mental health issues including a history of the mental health system, types of mental health illness including signs and symptoms of mental illness and common treatments and medications, and the potential interactions law enforcement officers may have on a regular basis with these individuals, their families, and service providers including de-escalating a potential crisis situation. This course, in addition to other traditional learning settings, may be made available in an electronic format.

(c) The Board shall develop a course and certification program for certified therapy dog teams consisting of officers employing the use of therapy dogs in relation to crisis and emergency response. This program shall aim to ensure that Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) officers and therapy dog teams are available in various regions throughout the State to be dispatched in the event of a crisis.

The amendatory changes to this Section made by Public Act 101-652 shall take effect January 1, 2022.

(Source: P.A. 101-652, eff. 7-1-21; 102-28, eff. 6-25-21.)