Bill Text: NJ S2850 | 2014-2015 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires DHS to prioritize placement of parents of children receiving services from DCPP in mental health and substance abuse treatment programs.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-05-07 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee [S2850 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2014-S2850-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator DIANE B. ALLEN
District 7 (Burlington)
SYNOPSIS
Requires DHS to prioritize placement of parents of children receiving services from DCPP in mental health and substance abuse treatment programs.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning mental health and substance abuse treatment for parents of children engaged in the child welfare system and supplementing Title 26 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. The Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services in the Department of Human Services shall ensure the prompt availability of appropriate mental health and substance abuse treatment services for:
(1) a parent of a child who is receiving services from the Division of Child Protection and Permanency in the Department of Children and Families who has been referred to mental health or substance abuse treatment by the child's case worker, pursuant to section 13 of P.L.1951, c.138 (C.30:4C-13) or any other provision of law; and
(2) a parent who is required to demonstrate that he is receiving treatment and complying with the treatment program pursuant to section 1 of P.L. 1998, c.127 (C.9:6-8.58a).
b. In order to effectuate the requirements of subsection a. of this section, the Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services shall incorporate into its contracts with mental health and substance abuse treatment providers a requirement that, when determining how to fill available treatment slots, providers give priority to a parent who has been referred to treatment by a Division of Child Protection and Permanency case worker.
2. This act shall take effect on the first day of the fourth month next following the date of enactment and shall apply to contracts that are entered into on or after the effective date, except that the Commissioner of Human Services may take any advance administrative action in advance as necessary for the implementation of this act.
STATEMENT
This bill would require the Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS) in the Department of Human Services to ensure the prompt availability of appropriate mental health and substance abuse treatment services for: a parent of a child who is receiving services from the Division of Child Protection and Permanency (DCPP) in the Department of Children and Families who has been referred to mental health or substance abuse treatment by the child's case worker; and a parent who is required by a family court to demonstrate that he is receiving treatment and complying with the treatment program.
The bill would further require DMHAS to incorporate into its contracts with mental health and substance abuse treatment providers a requirement that, when determining how to fill available treatment slots, providers give priority to a parent who has been referred to treatment by a DCPP case worker.
