FILED ON: 9/12/2013
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1861
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The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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In the Year Two Thousand Thirteen
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An Act relative to critical incident intervention by emergency service providers.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
SECTION 1. Chapter 268 of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the following section:-
Section 41.(a) As used in this section, the following words shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly requires otherwise:
“Abuse”, (i) causing or attempting to cause physical harm; (ii) placing another in fear of imminent physical harm; or (iii) causing another to engage in sexual relations by force, threat of force or coercion.
“Child abuse”, (i) physical or emotional injury on a person under 18 resulting from abuse which causes harm or substantial risk of harm to the child's health or welfare, including sexual abuse; or (ii) neglect, including malnutrition.
“Crisis intervention services”, consultation, counseling, debriefing, defusing, intervention services, management, prevention and referral provided by a critical incident stress management team member or participant.
“Critical incident”, an event that results in acute or cumulative psychological stress or trauma to an emergency service provider as a result of the provider’s response to the event.
“Critical incident stress management”, a process of crisis intervention designed to assist emergency service providers in coping with the psychological trauma resulting from response to a critical incident, consistent with training standards established by the Massachusetts Peer Support Network.
“Critical incident stress management team”, a trained volunteer or participant or a group of trained volunteers or participants who offer critical incident stress management and crisis intervention services following a critical incident.
“Critical incident stress management team member” or “team member”, an individual specially trained to provide critical incident stress management and crisis intervention services as a member of an organized and registered team; provided, however, that team member shall include, but not be limited to, law enforcement officers, firefighters or emergency medical services providers; and provided further, that team members, both sworn and civilian, shall be designated by the colonel of state police or a sheriff or by a police chief, fire chief or director of emergency services in a city or town.
“Emergency service provider”, a police officer or civilian law enforcement employee including, but not limited to, an emergency dispatcher, sheriff, deputy sheriff, state police officer, employee of the Massachusetts emergency management agency, permanent or volunteer firefighter and permanent or volunteer emergency medical personnel.
(b) No critical incident stress management team member, team leader or other participant who provides or receives critical incident stress management and crisis intervention services shall be required to testify or divulge any information obtained solely through the provision of or receipt of such services and any information divulged to the team or a team member during the provision of critical incident stress management and crisis intervention services shall be kept confidential and shall not be disclosed to a third party, except as provided in this section. A critical incident stress management team member, team leader or other participant may disclose such information if: (i) the information indicates the existence of a danger to the individual who receives critical incident stress management or crisis intervention services or to any other person; or (ii) the information indicates the existence of past child abuse upon the individual or abuse by a family or household member as defined in section 1 of chapter 209A.