Bill Text: NJ S437 | 2020-2021 | Regular Session | Introduced


Bill Title: Requires children's psychiatric facilities to have on-site staff members supervise patients 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-14 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee [S437 Detail]

Download: New_Jersey-2020-S437-Introduced.html

SENATE, No. 437

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

219th LEGISLATURE

 

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2020 SESSION

 


 

Sponsored by:

Senator  STEVEN V. OROHO

District 24 (Morris, Sussex and Warren)

Senator  LINDA R. GREENSTEIN

District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)

 

 

 

 

SYNOPSIS

     Requires children's psychiatric facilities to have on-site staff members supervise patients 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

 

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

     Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.

  


An Act concerning children's psychiatric facilities and supplementing Title 9 of the Revised Statutes.

 

     Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

 

     1.    a.  Notwithstanding any provisions of law to the contrary, a children's psychiatric facility shall provide daily care to and supervision of the children receiving treatment at the facility, and the agency administrator or home, program, or facility director shall designate staff members to provide continuous, on-site supervision of the children 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

     b.  As used in this section, "children's psychiatric facility" means a children's crisis intervention services, children's partial care program, psychiatric community home for children, psychiatric residential treatment facility, residential child care facility, or other out-of-home mental health treatment setting as defined in N.J.A.C.10:191-2.

 

     2.    The Department of Children and Families, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedures Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), shall adopt rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of this act.

 

     3.    This act shall take effect immediately.

 

 

STATEMENT

 

     This bill requires a children's psychiatric facility to provide daily care to and supervision of the children receiving treatment at the facility, and the agency administrator or home, program, or facility director is to designate staff members to be available and on-site 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

     As used in the bill, "children's psychiatric facility" means a children's crisis intervention services, children's partial care program, psychiatric community home for children, psychiatric residential treatment facility, residential child care facility, or other out-of-home mental health treatment settings as defined in N.J.A.C.10:191-2.

     Children's group homes and juvenile detention centers are required to ensure that staff members are available and on-site 24 hours a day, seven days a week to provide continuous supervision of the children in such homes and centers.  This bill would mandate that children's psychiatric facilities adopt the same staffing requirements as children's group homes and juvenile detention centers.

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