Bill Text: NJ A2979 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Concerns Early Intervention Support Services program in DHS and expansion of program to all counties.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-09 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Aging and Human Services Committee [A2979 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-A2979-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman TENNILLE R. MCCOY
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
SYNOPSIS
Concerns Early Intervention Support Services program in DHS and expansion of program to all counties.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
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 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 Human Services 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. Any program that is operating in the State upon the effective date of P.L. c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) and provides the services as set forth in subsection a. of this section shall be designated by the department as an Early Intervention Support Services Program pursuant to this bill.
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 Human Services may, 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 Human Services 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 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.
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. Existing programs that meet the qualifications of an EISS program as provided in the bill are to be designated by the Department of Human Services (DHS) as EISS programs.
Additionally, The DHS is to 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 that county program and to those organizations or persons who may be the source of referrals to that program.
The bill also requires the DHS 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.
Lastly, the bill requires the DHS to collect information from each EISS Program in the State. The information would include, but not be limited to, information about the services provided by the program, the utilization of services, and the number of individuals who have been stabilized and referred to treatment in the community. The DHS is to issue annual reports, based on the information collected, which would include a review and analysis of the programs in the State and any recommendations for improvements to the program.
