{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-95a.292","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 95A.292","heading":"Alan \"Chip\" Terry Professional Development and Wellness Program --","body":"Administrative regulations -- Funding -- Leave following critical incident.\n(1) The commission shall establish the Alan \"Chip\" Terry Professional Development\nand Wellness Program for firefighters and rescue squad members.\n(2) As used in this section, \"rescue squad member\" means an individual who is a\nmember of a rescue squad as defined in KRS 39F.010.\n(3) The program shall:\n(a) Use seminar-based peer support and counseling services designed to reduce\nnegative mental and behavioral health outcomes; and\n(b) Be offered to Kentucky professional and volunteer firefighters and rescue\nsquad members in Kentucky at least two (2) times each calendar year.\n(4) On a limited basis, the p rogram may be offered to professional and volunteer\nfirefighters and rescue squad members from states other than Kentucky upon\napplication to and approval by the executive director. However, no Kentucky\nprofessional and volunteer firefighters or rescue squ ad members may be denied\nadmission to the program if professional and volunteer firefighters or rescue squad\nmembers from another state are admitted to the program.\n(5) The commission shall promulgate administrative regulations in accordance with\nKRS Chapt er 13A to implement this section. The administrative regulations shall\naddress, at a minimum:\n(a) The required qualifications and duties of any person used by the commission\nto implement or administer the program;\n(b) The curriculum, programming, seminar type, and treatment modalities used in\nthe program;\n(c) The extent to which a participating firefighter's or rescue squad member's\nrelatives or friends may participate in seminars;\n(d) The standards by which professional and volunteer firefighters or rescue\nsquad members from other states may be accepted into the program by the\nexecutive director; and\n(e) A protocol for establishing reciprocity for interagency assistance with other\nstate, federal, and tribal professional and volunteer firefighters or rescue squad\nmembers in administering the program.\n(6) The commission shall enter into an agreement with the Division of Emergency\nManagement to provide rescue squad members with access to the program.\n(7) (a) Except as provided in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this subsection,\ncommunications, identifying data, and any reports made in the application for\nor in the course of a firefighter's or rescue squad member's participation in the\nprogram shall be confidential and privileged from disclosure in any civil or\ncriminal proceeding and shall not be subject to discovery, disclosure, or\nproduction upon the order or subpoena of a court or other agency with\nsubpoena power, regardless of who possesses the m. The participating\nfirefighter or rescue squad member is the holder of the privilege.\n(b) The commission may use anonymous data for research, statistical analysis,\nand educational purposes.\n(c) Any communication making an actual threat of physical violen ce against a\nclearly identified or reasonably identifiable victim or an actual threat of some\nspecific violent act may be revealed by the program in order to prevent the\ncommission of any physical violence or violent act using the protocol\nestablished in KRS 202A.400.\n(8) (a) There is hereby established in the State Treasury a restricted fund to be known\nas the professional and volunteer firefighters Professional Development and\nWellness Program fund.\n(b) The fund shall consist of moneys received from the F irefighters Foundation\nProgram fund established in KRS 95A.220, grants, gifts, state appropriations,\nand federal funds.\n(c) The fund shall be administered by the commission.\n(d) Amounts deposited in the fund shall be used only for administration of the\nprogram.\n(e) Notwithstanding KRS 45.229, fund amounts not expended at the close of a\nfiscal year shall not lapse but shall be carried forward to the next fiscal year.\n(f) Any interest earnings of the fund shall become a part of the fund and shall not\nlapse.\n(9) (a) For the purposes of this subsection, \"critical incident\" means any event that\nhas a stressful impact sufficient enough to overwhelm a firefighter or rescue\nsquad member's usual coping strategies. These events may include:\n1. A fire or vehicle crash resulting in serious injury or death to a first\nresponder or citizen;\n2. A firefighter or rescue squad member being the victim of a felonious\nassault;\n3. The death of a colleague or partner;\n4. A death of, or serious injury to, a person in the medical car e of the\nfirefighter or rescue squad member;\n5. The severe injury to, or death of, a child, particularly if the firefighter or\nrescue squad member has a child of or near the same age; or\n6. An incident involving multiple deaths or injuries in a short amoun t of\ntime.\n(b) Any firefighter or rescue squad member involved directly in a critical incident\nmay take up to forty-eight (48) hours of leave immediately following a critical\nincident. This leave may commence upon:\n1. The completion of that firefighter's o r rescue squad member's shift\nencompassing the critical incident, or when all necessary administrative\nprocedures relating to a critical incident have been completed; and\n2. The firefighter or rescue squad member informs his or her supervisor.\n(c) For regular firefighters, this leave may be unpaid or paid leave. The pay status\nis to be determined by the firefighter's employment contract, collective labor\nagreement if any, or by written departmental policy. This subsection shall not\nbe construed to set aside  any employment contract, labor agreement, or\ndepartmental policies that grant more than forty -eight (48) hours of leave\nfollowing an officer involved critical incident.\n(d) For volunteer firefighters, this leave may be unpaid or paid leave. The pay\nstatus is to be determined by the firefighter's written departmental policy.\n(e) For rescue squad members, this leave may be unpaid or paid leave. The pay\nstatus is to be determined by a written policy of the Division of Emergency\nManagement.","path":["KRS Chapter 95A"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=57579","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:49:57Z","sha256":"f2f08942d289a0957ea7f728037729b59a7121ad75a26a3302556f3ba8a63b2f","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-95a.290","next":"us-ky/krs-95a.300"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}