Illinois 2025-2026 Regular Session

Illinois House Bill HB3043 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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1	1	104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 HB3043 Introduced , by Rep. Maurice A. West, II SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: New Act Creates the Criminal Justice Special Advocates Program for People with Disabilities Act. Provides that subject to appropriation for this purpose, the Department of Human Services shall establish a 3-year, 5-county pilot program to provide a minimum of one criminal justice special advocate in each selected county to serve the advocacy and support needs of an individual with an intellectual disability or a developmental disability involved in the criminal justice system of the county. Contains provisions concerning the selection of counties; the qualifications and duties of criminal justice special advocates; and Department evaluation and reporting requirements. LRB104 09632 KTG 19697 b A BILL FOR 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 HB3043 Introduced , by Rep. Maurice A. West, II SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: New Act New Act Creates the Criminal Justice Special Advocates Program for People with Disabilities Act. Provides that subject to appropriation for this purpose, the Department of Human Services shall establish a 3-year, 5-county pilot program to provide a minimum of one criminal justice special advocate in each selected county to serve the advocacy and support needs of an individual with an intellectual disability or a developmental disability involved in the criminal justice system of the county. Contains provisions concerning the selection of counties; the qualifications and duties of criminal justice special advocates; and Department evaluation and reporting requirements. LRB104 09632 KTG 19697 b LRB104 09632 KTG 19697 b A BILL FOR
2	2	104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 HB3043 Introduced , by Rep. Maurice A. West, II SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
3	3	New Act New Act
4	4	New Act
5	5	Creates the Criminal Justice Special Advocates Program for People with Disabilities Act. Provides that subject to appropriation for this purpose, the Department of Human Services shall establish a 3-year, 5-county pilot program to provide a minimum of one criminal justice special advocate in each selected county to serve the advocacy and support needs of an individual with an intellectual disability or a developmental disability involved in the criminal justice system of the county. Contains provisions concerning the selection of counties; the qualifications and duties of criminal justice special advocates; and Department evaluation and reporting requirements.
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8	8	A BILL FOR
9	9	HB3043LRB104 09632 KTG 19697 b HB3043 LRB104 09632 KTG 19697 b
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11	11	1 AN ACT concerning criminal justice.
12	12	2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
13	13	3 represented in the General Assembly:
14	14	4 Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
15	15	5 Criminal Justice Special Advocates Program for People with
16	16	6 Disabilities Act.
17	17	7 Section 5. Legislative findings and purpose.
18	18	8 (a) The General Assembly finds that people with an
19	19	9 intellectual disability or a developmental disability involved
20	20	10 in the criminal justice system face unique challenges in
21	21	11 understanding and navigating all phases of the criminal
22	22	12 justice process. The General Assembly further finds that it is
23	23	13 essential that the State of Illinois commence and evaluate a
24	24	14 pilot program in which special advocates in selected counties
25	25	15 assist people with intellectual disabilities or developmental
26	26	16 disabilities while they are involved in the criminal justice
27	27	17 system through advocacy, education, supports, and referrals to
28	28	18 appropriate services.
29	29	19 This pilot program is being established as a direct result
30	30	20 of recommendations made by the Protection of Individuals with
31	31	21 Disabilities in the Criminal Justice System Task Force
32	32	22 convened by the Illinois Guardianship and Advocacy Commission.
33	33	23 The report of the Task Force issued in September 2021
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37	37	104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 HB3043 Introduced , by Rep. Maurice A. West, II SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
38	38	New Act New Act
39	39	New Act
40	40	Creates the Criminal Justice Special Advocates Program for People with Disabilities Act. Provides that subject to appropriation for this purpose, the Department of Human Services shall establish a 3-year, 5-county pilot program to provide a minimum of one criminal justice special advocate in each selected county to serve the advocacy and support needs of an individual with an intellectual disability or a developmental disability involved in the criminal justice system of the county. Contains provisions concerning the selection of counties; the qualifications and duties of criminal justice special advocates; and Department evaluation and reporting requirements.
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68	68	1 emphasized the need for specialized advocacy services for
69	69	2 individuals with disabilities who are involved in the criminal
70	70	3 justice system.
71	71	4 (b) The purpose of this Act is to create and evaluate a
72	72	5 5-county pilot program that provides criminal justice advocacy
73	73	6 services and supports to people with an intellectual
74	74	7 disability or a developmental disability who are involved in
75	75	8 the criminal justice system in a participating county. The
76	76	9 advocates will assist people with an intellectual disability
77	77	10 or a developmental disability and their guardians, families,
78	78	11 caregivers, and supported decision-makers to better understand
79	79	12 each phase of the criminal justice process, ensure that their
80	80	13 disabilities are understood by officials involved in each
81	81	14 phase of the process, and ensure that medication is provided
82	82	15 as prescribed and other unique health needs are met for the
83	83	16 individual throughout their involvement in the criminal
84	84	17 justice process.
85	85	18 Section 10. Definitions.As used in this Act:
86	86	19 "Criminal justice special advocate" means a non-attorney
87	87	20 who is trained to provide support and advocacy services to
88	88	21 people with an intellectual disability or a developmental
89	89	22 disability who is involved in the criminal justice system in a
90	90	23 pilot county.
91	91	24 "Department" means the Department of Human Services.
92	92	25 "Developmental disability" has the same meaning ascribed
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103	103	1 to it in Section 1-106 of the Mental Health and Developmental
104	104	2 Disabilities Code.
105	105	3 "Intellectual disability" has the same meaning ascribed to
106	106	4 it in Section 1-116 of the Mental Health and Developmental
107	107	5 Disabilities Code.
108	108	6 Section 15. Pilot program. Subject to appropriation for
109	109	7 this purpose, the Department of Human Services shall establish
110	110	8 a 3-year, 5-county pilot program to provide a minimum of one
111	111	9 criminal justice special advocate in each selected county to
112	112	10 serve the advocacy and support needs of an individual with an
113	113	11 intellectual disability or a developmental disability involved
114	114	12 in the criminal justice system of the county. Funding shall
115	115	13 cover the reasonable costs of the pilot county for the
116	116	14 criminal justice special advocate's salary, benefits,
117	117	15 training, supervision, equipment and supplies, as approved by
118	118	16 the Department.
119	119	17 Section 20. Selection of counties. The Department shall
120	120	18 select 5 counties to participate in the 3-year pilot program
121	121	19 based on an application process established by the Department.
122	122	20 Criteria for evaluating applications and the selection of
123	123	21 counties shall be established by the Department. The counties
124	124	22 selected must be geographically diverse and demonstrate the
125	125	23 need for a Criminal Justice Special Advocate program. Counties
126	126	24 shall indicate on their applications where the criminal
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137	137	1 justice special advocate's office will be located and identify
138	138	2 the official or officer who will be providing supervision.
139	139	3 Section 25. Criminal justice special advocates.
140	140	4 (a) Criminal justice special advocates shall be employed
141	141	5 by the participating county and shall be independent of any
142	142	6 county official or officer who is directly involved in the
143	143	7 criminal justice system in the county.
144	144	8 (b) Criminal justice special advocates must be
145	145	9 non-attorneys with some experience and training working with
146	146	10 people with intellectual disabilities or developmental
147	147	11 disabilities, preferably with a background in social work,
148	148	12 counseling, or a related field.
149	149	13 (c) The primary duties of the criminal justice special
150	150	14 advocate shall include, but are not limited to:
151	151	15 (1) Assisting people with an intellectual disability
152	152	16 or a developmental disability and their guardians, family
153	153	17 members, caregivers, and supported decision-makers in
154	154	18 understanding the legal process and their rights within
155	155	19 the criminal justice system.
156	156	20 (2) Advocating for accommodations and necessary
157	157	21 services to ensure that people with an intellectual
158	158	22 disability or a developmental disability can effectively
159	159	23 participate in their defense and the overall legal
160	160	24 process.
161	161	25 (3) Coordinating with prosecutors, defense attorneys,
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172	172	1 law enforcement, courts, and service providers to ensure
173	173	2 their understanding of the person's disability and
174	174	3 facilitate access to appropriate services.
175	175	4 (4) Providing referrals to mental health, disability
176	176	5 services, and other community resources.
177	177	6 (5) Offering support during court proceedings,
178	178	7 interviews, and other phases of the criminal justice
179	179	8 process.
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