SB3531 CD CORR-END OF LIFE CARE | Illinois Bill

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104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
SB3531

Introduced 2/5/2026, by Sen. Adriane Johnson

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

730 ILCS 5/3-2-15.1 new

Amends the Unified Code of Corrections. Creates the End-of-life Care
Peer Support Program. Provides that the program is available to terminally
ill persons committed to the Department of Corrections. Provides that the
program shall be administered by the Department of Corrections in
partnership with certain health care providers. Provides that individual
patients may accept or decline care or participation in the program.
Provides that individual patients shall define the scope of peer support,
including the option to opt out of certain aspects of support. Provides
that patient care plans shall be developed with the individual patient,
the patient's peer support attendants, and the interdisciplinary team.
Provides that participating patients shall be subject to the least
restrictive security measures possible, with access to comfort items such
as blankets, memorabilia, music, and books. Provides that participating
patients shall have the following rights: (1) the right to dignity,
privacy, respect, and culturally competent care; (2) the right to request
peer support services; (3) the right to refuse services; and (4) the right
to request family visitation. Provides that all participants in the
program, including patients and peer support attendants, shall have access
to grief counseling and mental health care services as needed. Provides
that the program shall be funded through: (1) the Individual Benefit Fund;
(2) direct appropriations from the General Revenue Fund; and (3) federal
appropriations if applicable.
LRB104 18434 RLC 31876 b

A BILL FOR

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LRB104 18434 RLC 31876 b
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AN ACT concerning criminal law.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3
represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5.
The Unified Code of Corrections is amended by
5
adding Section 3-2-15.1 as follows:

(730 ILCS 5/3-2-15.1 new)
7

Sec. 3-2-15.1.
Department of Corrections; End-of-life Care
8
Peer Support Program.
9

(a) References. This Section may be referred to as
10
Humanizing End-of-Life Care for People in Prison.
11

(b) Legislative findings. The General Assembly finds that:
12

(1) A significant number of people in the Department
13

of Corrections are aging, experiencing terminal illnesses,
14

or dying.
15

(2) According to the Department's 2024 Annual Report,
16

the Department incarcerates the following populations of
17

aging people:
18

(A) 3,002 individuals between the ages of 55 and
19

64.
20

(B) 1,045 individuals between the ages of 65 and
21

74.
22

(3) As a result of the aging prison population, more

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incarcerated persons are in need of end-of-life care and
2

support services.
3

(4) Prison is disabling and contributes to accelerated
4

aging due to inadequate healthcare, high-stress
5

environments, and lack of physical movement or cognitive
6

stimuli.
7

(5) Mass incarceration is a public health crisis.
8

(6) People in prison and returning home after
9

incarceration, on average, have higher healthcare needs.
10

(A) The Bureau of Justice Statistics found that,
11

in 2011, 44 percent of people who are incarcerated had
12

a mental health disorder.
13

(B) Compared to the general population, both men
14

and women who are incarcerated are more likely to have
15

high blood pressure, asthma, cancer, arthritis, and
16

infectious diseases, such as tuberculosis, hepatitis
17

C, and HIV.
18

disproportionately likely to suffer from conditions
20

such as tuberculosis, hepatitis, and high blood
21

pressure, and are at greater risk for several
22

infectious diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, HPV, and other
23

sexually transmitted diseases.
24

(7) People in State prisons often suffer from unmet
25

health needs which lead to medical complications and
26

premature and preventable deaths.

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(8) Comprehensive end-of-life care requires approaches
2

that are patient-centered and family-centered;
3

peer-to-peer; inclusive; and accountable to patients and
4

their families.
5

(9) The Department has some end-of-life services in a
6

few facilities; rather, end-of-life care is provided on a
7

prison-by-prison basis which results in coordinated care
8

for some individuals in custody who have been diagnosed
9

with terminal illnesses or who are expected to reach the
10

end of their life.
11

(A) The Department's existing end-of-life care
12

program is, in part, provided by other incarcerated
13

individuals through the Department's Assisted Living
14

and Hospice Attendant Program.
15

(B) The Department's existing end-of-life care
16

programs are not available to incarcerated women.
17

(10) Peer-to-peer hospice programs can significantly
18

benefit the lives of not only participants but also
19

incarcerated volunteers by bringing value to their own
20

lives, providing an opportunity for penance for past
21

offenses through service to others, and developing healthy
22

coping mechanisms to feelings of loss and grief.
23

(11) Because peer-to-peer programs positively benefit
24

volunteers, decreases in recidivism rates can be expected
25

for those who complete the program.
26

(12) The nation is facing a looming care worker

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shortage.
2

(13) Peer-to-peer hospice program volunteers can
3

utilize their skills to achieve employment and a career
4

path following release while providing much needed care
5

support.
6

(1) This Section establishes a peer-to-peer,
8

non-medical, end-of-life care program in the Department to
9

provide care to individuals in custody who are diagnosed
10

with a terminal illness or medical incapacitation.
11

(2) This program shall expand and formalize the
12

Department's existing Assisted Living Attendant Program
13

and shall ensure that people dying in the Department
14

receive patient-directed, peer-provided, dignified
15

end-of-life care.
16

(3) This program shall work in conjunction with prison
17

medical and correctional staff and shall not replace or
18

impede upon any medical staff or services.
19

(d) Definitions. As used in this Section:
20

(1) "Terminal illness" means a condition that
21

satisfies all of the following criteria, as defined in
22

3-3-14:
23

(A) The condition is irreversible and incurable.
24

(B) In accordance with medical standards and a
25

reasonable degree of medical certainty, based on an
26

individual assessment, the condition is likely to

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cause death within 18 months.
2

(2) "Medically incapacitated" means an individual in
3

custody has any diagnosable medical condition, including
4

dementia and severe, permanent medical or cognitive
5

disability, that prevents the individual in custody from
6

completing more than one activity of daily living without
7

assistance or that incapacitates the individual in custody
8

to the extent that institutional confinement does not
9

offer additional restrictions, and that the condition is
10

unlikely to improve noticeably in the future.
11

(3) "End-of-life care" means support services that
12

address the physical, social, spiritual, psychological and
13

emotional needs of those that are dying who are in the
14

custody of the Department of Corrections.
15

(4) "Peer support attendant" means a companion and
16

assistant to individuals in custody who are diagnosed with
17

a terminal illness or who have compromised functioning as
18

the result of a chronic medical illness.
19

(e) Program requirements.
20

(1) The program shall be called the End-of-life Care
21

Peer Support Program.
22

(2) The program shall be administered by the
23

Department in partnership with the following entities:
24

(A) Hospice organizations.
25

(B) Centers for independent living and other
26

disability organizations.

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(D) Community clergy.
3

(E) Licensed clinical social workers.
4

(F) Behavioral therapists.
5

(G) Translation services, including both spoken
6

and unspoken languages.
7

(3) The scope of the program's services shall cover
8

the following:
9

(A) Services shall be provided 24 hours per day, 7
10

days per week.
11

(B) Services shall be available in all facilities
12

that house aging or medically vulnerable populations,
13

including, but not limited to, the following
14

correctional centers: Big Muddy, Centralia, Danville,
15

Decatur, Dixon, Fox Valley, Graham, Hill, Illinois
16

River, Lawrence, Menard, Pinckneyville, Pontiac,
17

Taylorville, and Western Illinois. The Department
18

shall ensure transfer and transportation of all
19

individuals that require end-of-life care to a
20

facility that offers the program.
21

security rules, incarcerated individuals receiving
23

end-of-life care shall be granted special privileges
24

including additional opportunities for visitation and
25

communication, with increased access to
26

non-incarcerated family and friends and incarcerated

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peers.
2

(D) All care shall be coordinated at monthly
3

meetings, with weekly meetings as necessary, with an
4

interdisciplinary team including the following:
5

(i) Facility Medical Director or
6

Hospice/Palliative Program Coordinator, or both.
7

(ii) Nursing staff.
8

(iii) Mental health professionals.
9

(iv) Clergy or chaplain.
10

(v) Peer support attendants.
11

(vi) Food service manager or managers.
12

(vii) Family.
13

(E) Placement or transfer of eligible patients
14

into medical wings or facilities which host the
15

program, or both.
16

(F) Peer supported attendant assisted tasks shall
17

include, but are not limited to, the following:
18

(i) Housekeeping tasks such as cleaning,
19

laundry, stocking hygiene supplies, dusting,
20

ensuring physical safe spaces.
21

(ii) Assistance with hygiene; body
22

positioning; using electric bed controls;
23

non-medical feeding support; mobility support;
24

grooming; changing clothes; assisting medical
25

staff with bed baths and showering; and other
26

tasks as needed and designated by the Medical

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Director.
2

(iii) Clerical assistance, including letter
3

writing; commissary lists; request slips; support
4

with legal documents; medical requests and
5

directives; financial documents, final remarks,
6

and filing grievances.
7

(iv) Facilitated communication with family,
8

counselors, and spiritual leaders.
9

(v) Support of cultural practices, rituals,
10

and beliefs as requested by patients.
11

(4) Individuals in custody shall be eligible to
12

participate as patients in the program if they meet any
13

one or a combination of the following:
14

(A) Diagnosis with a terminal illness.
15

(B) Medical incapacitation due to illness or
16

injury.
17

including while awaiting release which has been
19

approved by the Prison Review Board.
20

(5) Individuals in custody shall be eligible to
21

participate as peer support attendants in the program if
22

they complete the following:
23

(A) Submit an Offender Request Slip to the
24

Assistant Warden of Programs or the Assistant Warden's
25

designee.
26

(i) The Assistant Warden of Programs shall

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evaluate the individuals' security status. If the
2

individual does not pose a clear risk to safety
3

and security, the individual shall be eligible for
4

participation in the program.
5

(ii) The Assistant Warden of Programs or the
6

Assistant Warden's designee shall provide, in
7

writing, an explanation regarding any decision to
8

deny an individual access to the program,
9

including a specific reason as to why they were
10

denied.
11

(B) Participation in the program shall be
12

voluntary.
13

diversity of the individuals in custody served,
15

whenever possible.
16

(6) Training shall be provided to all peer support
17

attendants as follows:
18

(A) All peer support attendants shall receive
19

hospice and adult care volunteer training upon
20

entrance into the program.
21

(B) Peer support attendants shall receive
22

continuing training and education on end-of-life care,
23

appropriate to the peer support attendants'
24

responsibilities.
25

following topics:

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(i) Trauma-informed care.
2

(ii) ADA accommodations and support.
3

(iii) Cultural competency and LGBTQIA+
4

affirming care.
5

(iv) Active listening.
6

(v) Grief and loss support.
7

(vi) Confidentiality and boundaries.
8

(vii) Elder care and comfort.
9

(viii) Caregiving in a correctional setting.
10

(D) Peer support attendants shall receive earned
11

program sentence credits for each day of training in
12

which they participate. Peer support attendants shall
13

also receive certifications as appropriate based on
14

their completed training.
15

(7) The program shall center patients' needs, as
16

defined below:
17

(A) Individual patients may accept or decline care
18

or participation in the program. Individual patients
19

shall define the scope of peer support, including the
20

option to opt out of certain aspects of support.
21

(B) Patient care plans shall be developed with the
22

individual patient, the patient's peer support
23

attendants, and the interdisciplinary team defined in
24

subparagraph (D) of paragraph (3) of subsection (e).
25

(i) Patient care plans shall incorporate
26

culturally and disability-competent expertise and

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address patients' spiritual needs.
2

(ii) Patient care plans shall be considerate
3

of both patient and family goals for care, while
4

prioritizing the patient's goals.
5

program shall receive services as soon as practicable
7

under the circumstances.
8

(D) Patients' medical privacy shall be ensured
9

throughout the entirety of their participation in the
10

program.
11

(E) Individual patients may choose whether to
12

release medical or end-of-life care status, or both,
13

to their family members. If patients so choose, the
14

Department must assist patients in completing advanced
15

healthcare directives and assigning powers of
16

attorney.
17

(F) To the extent possible, participating patients
18

shall have the right to medically accessible,
19

temperature-regulated housing units which are
20

appropriate for their mobility and communication
21

needs.
22

(G) Participating patients shall be subject to the
23

least restrictive security measures possible, with
24

access to comfort items such as blankets, memorabilia,
25

music, and books.
26

(H) Regarding medical aid in dying. In addition to

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following processes laid out in the End-of-Life
2

Options for Terminally Ill Patients Act, individuals
3

must complete a mental health evaluation and
4

depression screening to ensure mental capacity before
5

proceeding with medical aid in dying.
6

(8) The program shall follow the reporting
7

requirements outlined in Section 3-2-15, the Eddie Thomas
8

Act.
9

(f) Additional protections.
10

(1) Participating patients shall have the following
11

rights:
12

(A) Right to dignity, privacy, respect, and
13

culturally competent care.
14

(B) Right to request peer support services.
15

(D) Right to request family visitation.
17

(2) Peer support attendants shall be protected from
18

retaliatory actions in response to participating in the
19

program or reporting issues related to the program or
20

delivery of health care. Retaliatory actions include but
21

are not limited to verbal abuse, restrictive housing
22

assignments, denial of medical or mental health care,
23

physical assault, transfers to harsher facilities, or
24

revocation of privileges such as phone calls, visits,
25

commissary, day room opportunities, or yard time.
26

(3) All participants in the program, including

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patients and peer support attendants, shall have access to
2

grief counseling and mental health care services as
3

needed.
4

(4) The Department must provide a grievance process
5

for incarcerated individuals and their families to report
6

abuse, bias, coercion, discrimination, or other adverse
7

actions that are not in accordance with this Section.
8

(g) Funding. This program shall be funded through:
9

(1) the Individual Benefit Fund;

(2) direct appropriations from the General Revenue
11

Fund; and
12

(3) federal appropriations if applicable.

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CD CORR-END OF LIFE CARE

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CD CORR-END OF LIFE CARE

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