Sponsored by:
Assemblyman GARY S. SCHAER
District 36 (Bergen and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
Concerns Early Intervention Support Services program in DOH and expansion of program to all counties.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning behavioral health services and supplementing Title 30 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. As used in this section, "Early Intervention Support Services Program" means a program that provides rapid access to short term, recovery-oriented crisis intervention and crisis stabilization services for up to 30 days to an individual 18 years of age or older with a serious mental illness and includes, but is not limited to, medication, therapy, and case management services, which are offered at an on-site location, other than a hospital, or through outreach in the community.
b. The Department of Health shall expand the Early Intervention Support Services Programs currently available in 11 counties in the State to provide for one such program in each county in the State.
c. An Early Intervention Support Services Program shall be available to provide services 14 hours per day, seven days a week.
d. The department shall coordinate with each county Early Intervention Support Services Program in the State to provide for education about the program, and accessibility to the program, to members of the public served by a county program and to those organizations or persons who may be the source of referrals to the county program.
e. The department shall utilize the moneys available to it for the program to ensure that funding is available for:
(1) expanding the program to each county in the State; and
(2) the expansion of a program in existence on the effective date of this act, based on the needs of the program to provide services.
f. The department shall:
(1) collect, at a minimum, information from each Early Intervention Support Services Program in the State about the services provided by the program, the utilization of these services, and the number of individuals who have been stabilized and referred to treatment in the community; and
(2) issue, within 18 months of the effective date of this act and annually thereafter, a report to the Governor and pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1) to the Legislature, based on the information collected pursuant to paragraph (1) of this section. The report shall include a review and analysis of each Early Intervention Support Services Program in the State and any recommendations for improvement to the programs.
2. The Commissioner of Health shall, in accordance with the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), adopt any rules and regulations as the commissioner deems necessary to carry out the provisions of this act.
3. This act shall take effect on the first day of the 13th month next following the date of enactment, except the Commissioner of Health may take any anticipatory administrative action in advance as shall be necessary for the implementation of this act.
STATEMENT
This bill expands the Early Intervention Support Services (EISS) Programs, currently available in 11 counties (Atlantic, Bergen, Camden, Cumberland, Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, Mercer, Monmouth, Morris, and Ocean), to provide for one program in each county in the State. An EISS program is defined in the bill as a program that provides rapid access to short term, recovery-oriented crisis intervention and crisis stabilization services for up to 30 days to an individual 18 years of age or older with a serious mental illness and includes, but is not limited to, medication, therapy, and case management services, which are offered at an on-site location, other than a hospital, or through outreach in the community. The bill requires that an EISS program be available to provide services 14 hours per day, seven days a week.
EISS Programs are designed to provide the crisis intervention and stabilization services needed to help prevent the recurrence of a crisis and to reduce overutilization of hospital emergency departments for a behavioral health crisis. Additionally, the bill requires that the DOH coordinate with each county EISS program in the State to provide for education about the program, and accessibility to the program, to members of the public served by that county program and to those organizations or persons who may be the source of referrals to that program.
The bill also provides that DOH is to utilize the moneys available to it for the program to ensure that funding is available for: expanding the program to each county in the State; and the expansion of a program in existence on the effective date of this bill, based on the needs of the program to provide services. The bill requires DOH to collect information from each EISS Program in the State, including information about the services provided, their utilization, and the number of individuals who have been stabilized and referred to treatment. Based on the information collected, the DOH is to issue annual reports to the Governor and to the Legislature, which reports shall include a review and analysis of each program and any recommendations for improvement.