95A.292 Alan "Chip" Terry Professional Development and Wellness Program --
824 words·~4 min read·
/ky/95a-292A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Administrative regulations – Funding -- Leave following critical incident.
(1)The commission shall establish the Alan "Chip" Terry Professional Development
and Wellness Program for firefighters.
(2)The program shall:
(a)Use seminar-based peer support and counseling services designed to reduce
negative mental and behavioral health outcomes; and
(b)Be offered to Kentucky professional and volunteer firefighters in Kentucky at
least two
(2)times each calendar year.
(3)On a limited basis, the program may be offered to professional and volunteer
firefighters from states other than Kentucky upon application to and approval by the
executive director. However, no Kentucky professional and volunteer firefighters
may be denied admission to the program if professional and volunteer firefighters
from another state are admitted to the program.
(4)The commission shall promulgate administrative regulations in accordance with
KRS Chapter 13A to implement this section. The administrative regulations shall
address, at a minimum:
(a)The required qualifications and duties of any person used by the commission
to implement or administer the program;
(b)The curriculum, programming, seminar type, and treatment modalities used in
the program;
(c)The extent to which a participating firefighter's relatives or friends may
participate in seminars;
(d)The standards by which professional and volunteer firefighters from other
states may be accepted into the program by the executive director; and
(e)A protocol for establishing reciprocity for interagency assistance with other
state, federal, and tribal professional and volunteer firefighters in
administering the program.
(a)Except as provided in paragraphs
(b)and
(c)of this subsection,
communications, identifying data, and any reports made in the application for
or in the course of a firefighter's participation in the program shall be
confidential and privileged from disclosure in any civil or criminal proceeding
and shall not be subject to discovery, disclosure, or production upon the order
or subpoena of a court or other agency with subpoena power, regardless of
who possesses them. The participating firefighter is the holder of the
privilege.
(b)The commission may use anonymous data for research, statistical analysis,
and educational purposes.
(c)Any communication making an actual threat of physical violence against a
clearly identified or reasonably identifiable victim or an actual threat of some
specific violent act may be revealed by the program in order to prevent the
commission of any physical violence or violent act using the protocol
established in KRS 202A.400.
(a)There is hereby established in the State Treasury a restricted fund to be known
as the professional and volunteer firefighters professional development and
wellness program fund.
(b)The fund shall consist of moneys received from the Firefighters Foundation
Program Fund established in KRS 95A.220, grants, gifts, state appropriations,
and federal funds.
(c)The fund shall be administered by the commission.
(d)Amounts deposited in the fund shall be used only for administration of the
program.
(e)Notwithstanding KRS 45.229, fund amounts not expended at the close of a
fiscal year shall not lapse but shall be carried forward to the next fiscal year.
(f)Any interest earnings of the fund shall become a part of the fund and shall not
lapse.
(g)Moneys deposited in the fund are hereby appropriated for the purposes set
forth in this section and shall not be appropriated or transferred by the General
Assembly for any other purposes.
(a)For the purposes of this subsection, "critical incident" means any event that
has a stressful impact sufficient enough to overwhelm a firefighter's usual
coping strategies. These events may include:
1. A fire or vehicle crash resulting in serious injury or death to a first
responder or citizen;
2. A firefighter being the victim of a felonious assault;
3. The death of a colleague or partner;
4. A death of, or serious injury to, a person in the medical care of the
firefighter;
5. The severe injury to, or death of, a child, particularly if the firefighter
has a child of or near the same age; or
6. An incident involving multiple deaths or injuries in a short amount of
time.
(b)Any firefighter involved directly in a critical incident may take up to forty-
eight
(48)hours of leave immediately following a critical incident. This leave
may commence upon:
1. The completion of that firefighter's shift encompassing the critical
incident, or when all necessary administrative procedures relating to a
critical incident have been completed; and
2. The firefighter informs his or her supervisor.
(c)For regular firefighters, this leave may be unpaid or paid leave. The pay status
is to be determined by the firefighter's employment contract, collective labor
agreement if any, or by written departmental policy. This subsection shall not
be construed to set aside any employment contract, labor agreement, or
departmental policies that grant more than forty-eight
(48)hours of leave
following an officer involved critical incident.
(d)For volunteer firefighters, this leave may be unpaid or paid leave. The pay status is to be determined by the firefighter's written departmental policy.