COPS Counseling Act

116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 3434 AN ACT To make Federal law enforcement officer peer support communications confidential, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 2 † S 3434 ES SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Confidentiality Oppor- 2 tunities for Peer Support Counseling Act’’ or the ‘‘COPS 3 Counseling Act’’. 4 SEC. 2. CONFIDENTIALITY OF PEER SUPPORT COMMUNICA- 5 TIONS. 6 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 7 (1) LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY.—The term 8 ‘‘law enforcement agency’’ means a Federal agency 9 that employs a law enforcement officer. 10 (2) LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER.—The term 11 ‘‘law enforcement officer’’ has the meaning given the 12 term ‘‘Federal law enforcement officer’’ in section 13 115 of title 18, United States Code. 14 (3) PEER SUPPORT COMMUNICATION.—The 15 term ‘‘peer support communication’’ includes— 16 (A) an oral or written communication 17 made in the course of a peer support counseling 18 session; 19 (B) a note or report arising out of a peer 20 support counseling session; 21 (C) a record of a peer support counseling 22 session; or 23 (D) with respect to a communication made 24 by a peer support participant in the course of 25 a peer support counseling session, another com- 26 3 † S 3434 ES munication, regarding the first communication, 1 that is made between a peer support specialist 2 and— 3 (i) another peer support specialist; 4 (ii) a staff member of a peer support 5 counseling program; or 6 (iii) a supervisor of the peer support 7 specialist. 8 (4) PEER SUPPORT COUNSELING PROGRAM.— 9 The term ‘‘peer support counseling program’’ means 10 a program provided by a law enforcement agency 11 that provides counseling services from a peer sup- 12 port specialist to a law enforcement officer of the 13 agency. 14 (5) PEER SUPPORT COUNSELING SESSION.— 15 The term ‘‘peer support counseling session’’ means 16 any counseling formally provided through a peer 17 support counseling program between a peer support 18 specialist and one or more law enforcement officers. 19 (6) PEER SUPPORT PARTICIPANT.—The term 20 ‘‘peer support participant’’ means a law enforcement 21 officer who receives counseling services from a peer 22 support specialist. 23 4 † S 3434 ES (7) PEER SUPPORT SPECIALIST.—The term 1 ‘‘peer support specialist’’ means a law enforcement 2 officer who— 3 (A) has received training in— 4 (i) peer support counseling; and 5 (ii) providing emotional and moral 6 support to law enforcement officers who 7 have been involved in or exposed to an 8 emotionally traumatic experience in the 9 course of employment; and 10 (B) is designated by a law enforcement 11 agency to provide the services described in sub- 12 paragraph (A). 13 (b) PROHIBITION.—Except as provided in subsection 14 (c), a peer support specialist or a peer support participant 15 may not disclose the contents of a peer support commu- 16 nication to an individual who was not a party to the peer 17 support communication. 18 (c) EXCEPTIONS.—Subsection (b) shall not apply to 19 a peer support communication if— 20 (1) the peer support communication contains— 21 (A) an explicit threat of suicide; 22 (B) an explicit threat of imminent and se- 23 rious physical bodily harm or death to a clearly 24 identified or identifiable individual; 25 5 † S 3434 ES (C) information— 1 (i) relating to the abuse or neglect 2 of— 3 (I) a child; or 4 (II) an older or vulnerable indi- 5 vidual; or 6 (ii) that is required by law to be re- 7 ported; or 8 (D) an admission of criminal conduct; 9 (2) the disclosure is permitted by each peer 10 support participant who was a party to, as applica- 11 ble— 12 (A) the peer support communication; 13 (B) the peer support counseling session out 14 of which the peer support communication arose; 15 (C) the peer support counseling session of 16 which the peer support communication is a 17 record; or 18 (D) the communication made in the course 19 of a peer support counseling session that the 20 peer support communication is regarding; or 21 (3) a court of competent jurisdiction issues an 22 order or subpoena requiring the disclosure of the 23 peer support communication. 24 6 † S 3434 ES (d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in sub- 1 section (b) shall be construed to prohibit the disclosure 2 of— 3 (1) an observation made by a law enforcement 4 officer of a peer support participant outside of a 5 peer support counseling session; or 6 (2) knowledge of a law enforcement officer 7 about a peer support participant not gained from a 8 peer support communication. 9 (e) DISCLOSURE OF RIGHTS.—Before the initial peer 10 support counseling session of a peer support participant, 11 a peer support specialist shall inform the peer support 12 participant in writing of the confidentiality requirement 13 under subsection (b) and the exceptions to the require- 14 ment under subsection (c). 15 SEC. 3. BEST PRACTICES AND SUPPORT. 16 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 17 (1) FIRST RESPONDER.—The term ‘‘first re- 18 sponder’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘public 19 safety officer’’ in section 1204 of title I of the Omni- 20 bus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 21 U.S.C. 10284). 22 (2) FIRST RESPONDER AGENCY.—The term 23 ‘‘first responder agency’’ means a Federal, State, 24 7 † S 3434 ES local, or Tribal agency that employs or otherwise en- 1 gages the services of a first responder. 2 (3) PEER SUPPORT COUNSELING PROGRAM.— 3 The term ‘‘peer support counseling program’’ means 4 a program provided by a first responder agency that 5 provides counseling services from a peer support spe- 6 cialist to a first responder of the first responder 7 agency. 8 (4) PEER SUPPORT PARTICIPANT.—The term 9 ‘‘peer support participant’’ means a first responder 10 who receives counseling services from a peer support 11 specialist. 12 (5) PEER SUPPORT SPECIALIST.—The term 13 ‘‘peer support specialist’’ means a first responder 14 who— 15 (A) has received training in— 16 (i) peer support counseling; and 17 (ii) providing emotional and moral 18 support to first responders who have been 19 involved in or exposed to an emotionally 20 traumatic experience in the course of the 21 duties of the first responder; and 22 (B) is designated by a first responder 23 agency to provide the services described in sub- 24 paragraph (A). 25 8 † S 3434 ES (b) REPORT ON BEST PRACTICES.—Not later than 1 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attor- 2 ney General, in coordination with the Secretary of Health 3 and Human Services, shall develop a report on best prac- 4 tices and professional standards for peer support coun- 5 seling programs for first responder agencies that in- 6 cludes— 7 (1) advice on— 8 (A) establishing and operating peer sup- 9 port counseling programs; and 10 (B) training and certifying peer support 11 specialists; 12 (2) a code of ethics for peer support specialists; 13 (3) recommendations for continuing education 14 for peer support specialists; 15 (4) advice on disclosing to first responders any 16 confidentiality rights of peer support participants; 17 and 18 (5) information on— 19 (A) the different types of peer support 20 counseling programs in use by first responder 21 agencies; 22 (B) any differences in peer support coun- 23 seling programs offered across categories of 24 first responders; and 25 9 † S 3434 ES (C) the important role senior first respond- 1 ers play in supporting access to mental health 2 resources. 3 (c) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Attorney General shall 4 support and encourage the implementation of peer support 5 counseling programs in first responder agencies by— 6 (1) making the report developed under sub- 7 section (b) publicly available on the website of the 8 Department of Justice; and 9 (2) providing a list of peer support specialist 10 training programs on the website of the Department 11 of Justice. 12 Passed the Senate May 14, 2020. Attest: Secretary. 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 3434 AN ACT To make Federal law enforcement officer peer sup- port communications confidential, and for other purposes.