| Passed by the Senate March 5, 2009 YEAS 45 ________________________________________ President of the Senate Passed by the House March 30, 2009 YEAS 97 ________________________________________ Speaker of the House of Representatives | I, Thomas Hoemann, Secretary of the Senate of the State of Washington, do hereby certify that the attached is SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5131 as passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives on the dates hereon set forth. ________________________________________ Secretary | |
| Approved ________________________________________ Governor of the State of Washington | Secretary of State State of Washington |
| State of Washington | 61st Legislature | 2009 Regular Session |
READ FIRST TIME 02/23/09.
AN ACT Relating to crisis referral services for criminal justice and correctional personnel; and adding new sections to chapter 43.101 RCW.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1 (1) The commission shall offer a training
session on personal crisis recognition and crisis intervention services
to criminal justice, correctional personnel, and other public safety
employees. The training shall be implemented by the commission in
consultation with appropriate public and private organizations that
have expertise in crisis referral services and in the underlying
conditions leading to the need for crisis referral.
(2) The training shall consist of a minimum of one hour of
classroom or internet instruction, and shall include instruction on the
following subjects:
(a) The description and underlying causes of problems that may have
an impact on the personal and professional lives of public safety
employees, including mental health issues, chemical dependency,
domestic violence, financial problems, and other personal crises;
(b) Techniques by which public safety employees may recognize the
conditions listed in (a) of this subsection and understand the need to
seek assistance and obtain a referral for consultation and possible
treatment; and
(c) A listing of examples of public and private crisis referral
agencies available to public safety employees.
(3) The training developed by the commission shall be made
available by the commission to all employees of state and local
agencies that perform public safety duties. The commission may charge
a reasonable fee to defer the cost of making the training available.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2 (1) All communications to crisis referral
services by employees and volunteers of law enforcement, correctional,
firefighting, and emergency services agencies, and all records related
to the communications, shall be confidential. Crisis referral services
include all public or private organizations that advise employees and
volunteers of such agencies about sources of consultation and treatment
for personal problems including mental health issues, chemical
dependency, domestic violence, gambling, financial problems, and other
personal crises.
(2) A crisis referral service may reveal information related to
crisis referral services to prevent reasonably certain death,
substantial bodily harm, or commission of a crime.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3 Sections 1 and 2 of this act are each added
to chapter