Sec. 772.0074. CRITICAL INCIDENT STRESS DEBRIEFING GRANT PROGRAM. (a) In this section:

(1) "Criminal justice division" means the criminal justice division established under Section 772.006.

(2) "Critical incident" means an incident involving a peace officer that occurs while the officer is performing official duties and that results in serious bodily injury to the officer or poses a substantial risk of serious bodily injury or death to the officer or of serious harm to the officer's mental health or well-being.

(3) "Law enforcement agency" means an agency of the state or an agency of a political subdivision of the state that is authorized by law to employ peace officers.

(4) "Peace officer" has the meaning assigned by Article 2.12, Code of Criminal Procedure.

(b) The criminal justice division shall establish and administer a grant program to assist law enforcement agencies in providing critical incident stress debriefing to peace officers who experience critical incidents while performing official duties.

(c) The criminal justice division may award a grant under this section to:

(1) a law enforcement agency for the agency to provide critical incident stress debriefing to peace officers employed by the agency; or

(2) any other agency, organization with a focus on mental health or trauma-related issues, or university with relevant expertise and experience to assist in providing support for the grant program, including support related to the development, implementation, management, or evaluation of the grant program, as determined necessary by the division.

(d) A law enforcement agency that receives a grant under this section must:

(1) inform each peace officer employed by the agency about:

(A) the program, including opportunities to participate in the program; and

(B) if the officer participates in the program, the confidentiality protections described by Subsection (e); and

(2) certify in writing that the agency will not use disciplinary action or any other form of punishment, including the refusal of a promotion, to discourage or prohibit an officer's participation in the critical incident stress debriefing offered by the agency.

(e) Critical incident stress debriefing provided using money distributed under the grant program is subject to the confidentiality protections provided under Section 784.003, Health and Safety Code.

(f) The criminal justice division shall establish:

(1) eligibility criteria for grant applicants;

(2) grant application procedures;

(3) procedures for evaluating grant applications;

(4) the minimum qualifications necessary for a person to conduct critical incident stress debriefing that is provided using money distributed under the grant program; and

(5) guidance for the development of critical incident stress debriefing curricula, materials, and best practices.

(g) The criminal justice division shall include in the biennial report required by Section 772.006(a)(9) a detailed reporting of the results and performance of the grant program administered under this section.

Added by Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 488 (H.B. 2619), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2017.