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Full Text of HB4842

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HB4842 - 104th General Assembly

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HB4842 Enrolled
LRB104 16619 BDA 30020 b
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 changing Section 20 and by adding Section 23 as
6
follows:

7

(5 ILCS 840/20)
8

Sec. 20.
Confidentiality; exemptions.
9

(a) Any communication made by an employee of an emergency
10
services provider or law enforcement agency or peer support
11
advisor in a peer support counseling session and any oral or
12
written information conveyed in the peer support counseling
13
session is confidential and may not be disclosed by any person
14
participating in the peer support counseling session and shall
15
not be released to any person or entity.
16

(b) Any communication relating to a peer support
17
counseling session made confidential under this Section that
18
is made between peer support advisors and the supervisors or
19
staff of a peer support counseling program, or between the
20
supervisor or staff of a peer support counseling program, is
21
confidential and may not be disclosed.
22

(c) This Section does not prohibit any communications
23
between counselors who conduct peer support counseling

HB4842 Enrolled
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LRB104 16619 BDA 30020 b
1
sessions or any communications between counselors and the
2
supervisors or staff of a peer support counseling program.
3

(c-5) Any communication described in subsection (a) or (b)
4
is subject to subpoena for good cause shown.
5

(d)
The privileges established under this Section do not
6
apply if any of the following occur:
7

(1) the communication indicates an intent to engage in
8

conduct likely to result in imminent death or serious
9

physical injury to the participant or another individual;
10

(2) the person receiving the peer support counseling
11

session discloses information that is required to be
12

reported under the mandated reporting laws, including, but
13

not limited to, the reporting of maltreatment of minors,
14

the reporting of maltreatment of vulnerable adults,
15

provided the disclosure is only for the purpose of
16

reporting maltreatment and limited to information
17

necessary to make such a report;
18

(3) the participant expressly waives the privilege or
19

gives consent to disclosure of the privileged
20

communication;
21

(4) the participant is deceased and the surviving
22

spouse or the executor or administrator of the estate of
23

the deceased participant expressly waives the privilege or
24

gives consent to disclosure of the privileged
25

communication; or
26

(5) the participant sought or obtained the peer

HB4842 Enrolled
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LRB104 16619 BDA 30020 b
1

support counseling services to enable or aid anyone to
2

commit or plan to commit what the participant knew, or
3

reasonably should have known, was a crime or fraud.

This
4

Section does not apply to:

5

(1) any threat of suicide or homicide made by a
6

participant in a peer support counseling session or any
7

information conveyed in a peer support counseling session
8

related to a threat of suicide or homicide;
9

(2) any information mandated by law or agency policy
10

to be reported, including, but not limited to, domestic
11

violence, child abuse or neglect, or elder abuse or
12

neglect;
13

(3) any admission of criminal conduct; or
14

(4) an admission or act of refusal to perform duties
15

to protect others or the employee of the emergency
16

services provider or law enforcement agency.
17

(e) All communications, notes, records, and reports
18
arising out of a peer support counseling session are not
19
subject to disclosure under Section 7.5 of the Freedom of
20
Information Act.
21

(e-5) A department that establishes a peer support
22
counseling program shall develop a policy or rule that imposes
23
disciplinary measures against a peer support advisor who
24
violates the confidentiality of the peer support counseling
25
program by sharing information learned in a peer support
26
counseling session with department personnel who are not

HB4842 Enrolled
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LRB104 16619 BDA 30020 b
1
supervisors or staff of the peer support counseling program,
2
unless the information is related to the exemptions in
3
subsection (d).
4

(e-10) Confidentiality protections under this Act apply
5
regardless of whether the peer support advisor is employed by,
6
or affiliated with, the same agency as the first responder
7
receiving support.

8

(f) A cause of action exists for public safety personnel
9
or emergency services personnel if the emergency services
10
provider or law enforcement agency uses confidential
11
information obtained during a confidential peer support
12
counseling session conducted by a law enforcement agency or by
13
an emergency services provider for an adverse employment
14
action against the participant.
15
(Source: P.A. 101-375, eff. 8-16-19.)

16

(5 ILCS 840/23 new)
17

Sec. 23.
Confidentiality of critical incident stress
18
management communications.
19

(a) In this Section:
20

"Civilian employee" means an employee of a law
21
enforcement, fire, or emergency medical services agency who is
22
not a first responder.
23

"Critical incident" means an event that results in acute
24
or cumulative psychological stress or trauma to emergency
25
service personnel. "Critical incident" includes, but is not

HB4842 Enrolled
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LRB104 16619 BDA 30020 b
1
limited to, an encounter that may result in the death of or
2
serious injury to another person or the imminent potential of
3
such death or serious bodily injury, a fatal motor vehicle
4
accident, a child abuse investigation, a death investigation,
5
a large-scale, human-made or natural disaster, or situations
6
or incidents during the course of a first responder's duties
7
that cause cumulative exposure to stress.
8

"Critical incident stress management services" or "CISM
9
services" means consultation, risk assessment, education,
10
intervention, and other crisis intervention services provided
11
by a CISM team or CISM team member to a first responder,
12
civilian employee or an immediate family member of a first
13
responder or civilian employee before, during, or after a
14
critical incident.
15

"Critical incident stress management team" means a group
16
that is organized to provide critical incident stress
17
management to emergency service providers and that consists of
18
critical incident stress management team members. "Critical
19
incident stress management team" includes members from any
20
emergency service discipline, mental health professionals, and
21
designated emergency service chaplains.
22

"Critical incident stress management team member" or "CISM
23
team member" means an individual who satisfies all of the
24
following:
25

(1) is specially trained to provide CISM services to
26

assist and provide support to a first responder who has

HB4842 Enrolled
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LRB104 16619 BDA 30020 b
1

been involved in a critical incident that may affect, or
2

has affected, the person's work performance or general
3

well-being; and
4

(2) meets the requirements of a nationally accredited
5

critical incident stress management organization or
6

network.
7

"First responders" means federal, State, and local law
8
enforcement officers, fire and emergency medical services
9
personnel, hazardous materials response team members, 9-1-1
10
dispatchers, chaplains, or any individuals who are responsible
11
for the protection and preservation of life, property, and
12
evidence and who have been sent or directed to respond to a
13
request for assistance as a result of a critical incident.
14

"Immediate family member" means a spouse, dating partner,
15
person with a child in common, parent, child, step-relative,
16
and people sharing a dwelling.
17

"Participant" means any of the following:
18

(1) a first responder who obtains or has obtained CISM
19

services or wellness program services;
20

(2) a first responder's immediate family member who
21

obtains or has obtained wellness program services;
22

(3) a civilian employee who obtains or has obtained
23

wellness program services; or
24

(4) a civilian employee's immediate family member who
25

obtains or has obtained wellness program services.
26

"Trained peer support member" means a first responder who

HB4842 Enrolled
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LRB104 16619 BDA 30020 b
1
is designated as a peer support member by a State, county, or
2
municipal law enforcement, fire, or emergency medical services
3
agency and who is specially trained to provide a participant
4
with wellness program services.
5

"Wellness program" means a voluntary and comprehensive
6
health initiative designed to improve the well-being of
7
participants through the use of trained peer support members.
8

"Wellness program services" means any one or more of the
9
following services provided through a wellness program:
10

(1) counseling;
11

(2) spiritual guidance; and
12

(3) education about financial resources, health
13

resources, legal assistance, and stress management
14

services.
15

(b) Except as provided in subsections (c-5) and (d) of
16
this Section, all proceedings, communications, and records,
17
including any information acquired by a CISM team, CISM team
18
member, or trained peer support member from a participant, are
19
confidential. A CISM team member or trained peer support
20
member may not be compelled to disclose the proceedings,
21
communications, or records, including any information
22
acquired, through compulsory legal process, and the
23
confidential proceedings, communications, records, and
24
information under this subsection (b) are not discoverable or
25
admissible in evidence in any action, including any legal
26
proceeding, trial, or investigation unless the confidentiality

HB4842 Enrolled
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LRB104 16619 BDA 30020 b
1
is waived by the affected participant.
2

(c) The privileges in subsection (b) of this Section apply
3
only if the proceedings, communications, or records, including
4
information acquired, are obtained during the provision of
5
CISM services or wellness program services.
6

(c-5) Any communication under subsection (b) is subject to
7
a subpoena for good cause shown.
8

(d) The privileges established under subsection (b) of
9
this Section do not apply if any of the following occur:
10

(1) the communication indicates an intent to engage in
11

conduct likely to result in imminent death or serious
12

physical injury to the participant or another individual;
13

(2) the person receiving critical incident stress
14

management services discloses information that is required
15

to be reported under the mandated reporting laws,
16

including, but not limited to, the reporting of
17

maltreatment of minors or the reporting of maltreatment of
18

vulnerable adults, provided the disclosure is only for the
19

purpose of reporting maltreatment and limited to
20

information necessary to make such a report;
21

(3) the participant expressly waives the privilege or
22

gives consent to disclosure of the privileged
23

communication;
24

(4) the participant is deceased and the surviving
25

spouse or the executor or administrator of the estate of
26

the deceased participant expressly waives the privilege or

HB4842 Enrolled
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LRB104 16619 BDA 30020 b
1

gives consent to disclosure of the privileged
2

communication; or
3

(5) the participant sought or obtained the CISM
4

services or wellness program services to enable or aid
5

anyone to commit or plan to commit what the participant
6

knew, or reasonably should have known, was a fraud or
7

other crime.
8

(e) Information otherwise available from the original
9
source is not privileged from discovery or use in any civil or
10
criminal action merely because the information was disclosed
11
by a participant during CISM services or wellness program
12
services if the disclosure of the information sought is
13
otherwise permissible and the information is otherwise
14
discoverable.

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