Illinois Compiled Statutes
Chapter 5 - GENERAL PROVISIONS
5 ILCS 820/ - Community-Law Enforcement and Other First Responder Partnership for Deflection and Substance Use Disorder Treatment Act

(5 ILCS 820/1)
Sec. 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Community-Law Enforcement and Other First Responder Partnership for Deflection and Substance Use Disorder Treatment Act.

(Source: P.A. 100-1025, eff. 1-1-19; 101-652, eff. 7-1-21.)
 
(5 ILCS 820/5)
Sec. 5. Purposes. The General Assembly hereby acknowledges that opioid use disorders, overdoses, and deaths in Illinois are persistent and growing concerns for Illinois communities. These concerns compound existing challenges to adequately address and manage substance use and mental health disorders. Law enforcement officers, other first responders, and co-responders have a unique opportunity to facilitate connections to community-based behavioral health interventions that provide substance use treatment and can help save and restore lives; help reduce drug use, overdose incidence, criminal offending, and recidivism; and help prevent arrest and conviction records that destabilize health, families, and opportunities for community citizenship and self-sufficiency. These efforts are bolstered when pursued in partnership with licensed behavioral health treatment providers and community members or organizations. It is the intent of the General Assembly to authorize law enforcement and other first responders to develop and implement collaborative deflection programs in Illinois that offer immediate pathways to substance use treatment and other services as an alternative to traditional case processing and involvement in the criminal justice system, and to unnecessary admission to emergency departments.

(Source: P.A. 100-1025, eff. 1-1-19; 101-652, eff. 7-1-21.)
 
(5 ILCS 820/10)
Sec. 10. Definitions. In this Act:
"Case management" means those services which will assist persons in gaining access to needed social, educational, medical, substance use and mental health treatment, and other services.
"Community member or organization" means an individual volunteer, resident, public office, or a not-for-profit organization, religious institution, charitable organization, or other public body committed to the improvement of individual and family mental and physical well-being and the overall social welfare of the community, and may include persons with lived experience in recovery from substance use disorder, either themselves or as family members.
"Other first responder" means and includes emergency medical services providers that are public units of government, fire departments and districts, and officials and responders representing and employed by these entities.
"Deflection program" means a program in which a peace officer or member of a law enforcement agency or other first responder facilitates contact between an individual and a licensed substance use treatment provider or clinician for assessment and coordination of treatment planning, including co-responder approaches that incorporate behavioral health, peer, or social work professionals with law enforcement or other first responders at the scene. This facilitation includes defined criteria for eligibility and communication protocols agreed to by the law enforcement agency or other first responder entity and the licensed treatment provider for the purpose of providing substance use treatment to those persons in lieu of arrest or further justice system involvement, or unnecessary admissions to the emergency department. Deflection programs may include, but are not limited to, the following types of responses:
"Law enforcement agency" means a municipal police department or county sheriff's office of this State, the Illinois State Police, or other law enforcement agency whose officers, by statute, are granted and authorized to exercise powers similar to those conferred upon any peace officer employed by a law enforcement agency of this State.
"Licensed treatment provider" means an organization licensed by the Department of Human Services to perform an activity or service, or a coordinated range of those activities or services, as the Department of Human Services may establish by rule, such as the broad range of emergency, outpatient, intensive outpatient, and residential services and care, including assessment, diagnosis, case management, medical, psychiatric, psychological and social services, medication-assisted treatment, care and counseling, and recovery support, which may be extended to persons to assess or treat substance use disorder or to families of those persons.
"Peace officer" means any peace officer or member of any duly organized State, county, or municipal peace officer unit, any police force of another State, or any police force whose members, by statute, are granted and authorized to exercise powers similar to those conferred upon any peace officer employed by a law enforcement agency of this State.
"Substance use disorder" means a pattern of use of alcohol or other drugs leading to clinical or functional impairment, in accordance with the definition in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), or in any subsequent editions.
"Treatment" means the broad range of emergency, outpatient, intensive outpatient, and residential services and care (including assessment, diagnosis, case management, medical, psychiatric, psychological and social services, medication-assisted treatment, care and counseling, and recovery support) which may be extended to persons who have substance use disorders, persons with mental illness, or families of those persons.


(Source: P.A. 101-652, eff. 7-1-21; 102-538, eff. 8-20-21; 102-813, eff. 5-13-22.)
 
(5 ILCS 820/15)
Sec. 15. Authorization.
(a) Any law enforcement agency or other first responder entity may establish a deflection program subject to the provisions of this Act in partnership with one or more licensed providers of substance use disorder treatment services and one or more community members or organizations.
Programs established by another first responder entity shall also include a law enforcement agency.
(b) The deflection program may involve a post-overdose deflection response, a self-referral deflection response, an active outreach deflection response, an officer or other first responder prevention deflection response, or an officer intervention deflection response, or any combination of those.
(c) Nothing shall preclude the General Assembly from adding other responses to a deflection program, or preclude a law enforcement agency or other first responder entity from developing a deflection program response based on a model unique and responsive to local issues, substance use or mental health needs, and partnerships, using sound and promising or evidence-based practices.
(c-5) Whenever appropriate and available, case management should be provided by a licensed treatment provider or other appropriate provider and may include peer recovery support approaches.
(d) To receive funding for activities as described in Section 35 of this Act, planning for the deflection program shall include:
(Source: P.A. 100-1025, eff. 1-1-19; 101-81, eff. 7-12-19; 101-652, eff. 7-1-21.)
 
(5 ILCS 820/20)
Sec. 20. Procedure. The law enforcement agency or other first responder entity, licensed treatment providers, and community members or organizations shall establish a local deflection program plan that includes protocols and procedures for participant identification, screening or assessment, treatment facilitation, reporting, and ongoing involvement of the law enforcement agency. Licensed substance use disorder treatment organizations shall adhere to 42 CFR Part 2 regarding confidentiality regulations for information exchange or release. Substance use disorder treatment services shall adhere to all regulations specified in Department of Human Services Administrative Rules, Parts 2060 and 2090.

(Source: P.A. 100-1025, eff. 1-1-19; 101-652, eff. 7-1-21.)
 
(5 ILCS 820/21)
Sec. 21. Training. The law enforcement agency or other first responder entity in programs that receive funding for services under Section 35 of this Act shall and that receive training under subsection (a.1) of Section 35 shall be trained in:
(Source: P.A. 101-652, eff. 7-1-21.)
 
(5 ILCS 820/25)
Sec. 25. Reporting and evaluation.
(a) The Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, in conjunction with an association representing police chiefs and the Department of Human Services' Division of Substance Use Prevention and Recovery, shall within 6 months of the effective date of this Act:
(b) The Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority shall make statistical data collected under subsection (a) of this Section available to the Department of Human Services, Division of Substance Use Prevention and Recovery for inclusion in planning efforts for services to persons with criminal justice or law enforcement involvement.

(Source: P.A. 100-1025, eff. 1-1-19.)
 
(5 ILCS 820/30)
Sec. 30. Exemption from civil liability. The law enforcement agency or peace officer or other first responder acting in good faith shall not, as the result of acts or omissions in providing services under Section 15 of this Act, be liable for civil damages, unless the acts or omissions constitute willful and wanton misconduct.


(Source: P.A. 100-1025, eff. 1-1-19; 101-652, eff. 7-1-21.)
 
(5 ILCS 820/35)
Sec. 35. Funding.
(a) The General Assembly may appropriate funds to the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority for the purpose of funding law enforcement agencies or other first responder entities for services provided by deflection program partners as part of deflection programs subject to subsection (d) of Section 15 of this Act.
(a.1) Up to 10 percent of appropriated funds may be expended on activities related to knowledge dissemination, training, technical assistance, or other similar activities intended to increase practitioner and public awareness of deflection and/or to support its implementation. The Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority may adopt guidelines and requirements to direct the distribution of funds for these activities.
(b) For all appropriated funds not distributed under subsection (a.1), the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority may adopt guidelines and requirements to direct the distribution of funds for expenses related to deflection programs. Funding shall be made available to support both new and existing deflection programs in a broad spectrum of geographic regions in this State, including urban, suburban, and rural communities. Funding for deflection programs shall be prioritized for communities that have been impacted by the war on drugs, communities that have a police/community relations issue, and communities that have a disproportionate lack of access to mental health and drug treatment. Activities eligible for funding under this Act may include, but are not limited to, the following:
(c) Specific linkage agreements with recovery support services or self-help entities may be a requirement of the program services protocols. All deflection programs shall encourage the involvement of key family members and significant others as a part of a family-based approach to treatment. All deflection programs are encouraged to use evidence-based practices and outcome measures in the provision of substance use disorder treatment and medication-assisted treatment for persons with opioid use disorders.

(Source: P.A. 101-81, eff. 7-12-19; 101-652, eff. 7-1-21; 102-813, eff. 5-13-22.)

Structure Illinois Compiled Statutes