Sponsored by:
Senator VIN GOPAL
District 11 (Monmouth)
SYNOPSIS
Increases number of home health aide service hours provided to individual with disabilities residing on post-secondary school campus following initial assessment; Requires reassessment every six months.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the determination of home health aide services for certain individuals with disabilities and supplementing Title 30 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Any initial determination of eligibility for home health aide services provided by the Division of Developmental Disabilities in the Department of Human Services to a person with intellectual and developmental disabilities who is attending a post-secondary educational institution and residing on that institution’s campus shall:
a. include in the applicant’s individualized budget for necessary services, as established through an assessment implemented by the division, the funds equivalent to two hours of home health aide services per day in addition to the funds provided for daily home health aide services that are deemed necessary for the applicant according to the assessment; and
b. be reassessed every six months, pursuant to a procedure established by the Assistant Commissioner of the division, in which the beneficiary’s individualized budget for necessary services shall be modified to reflect the number of actual hours the beneficiary received home health aide services per day or the number of hours the beneficiary required home health aide services per day but did not receive, as indicated by documentation presented by the beneficiary.
2. The Commissioner of Human Services, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), shall adopt rules and regulations necessary to implement the provisions of this act.
3. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
Specifically, this bill requires that any initial determination of eligibility for home health aide services provided by the DDD in the Department of Human Services to a person with intellectual and developmental disabilities who is attending a post-secondary educational institution and residing on that institution’s campus shall: 1) include in the applicant’s individualized budget for necessary services, as established through an assessment implemented by the division, the funds equivalent to two hours of home health aide services per day in addition to the funds provided for daily home health aide services that are deemed necessary for the applicant according to the assessment; and 2) be reassessed every six months, pursuant to a procedure established by the Assistant Commissioner of the division, in which the beneficiary’s individualized budget for necessary services is to be modified to reflect the number of actual hours the beneficiary received home health aide services per day or the number of hours the beneficiary required home health aide services per day but did not receive, as indicated by documentation presented by the beneficiary.
Currently, DDD staff use the NJ Comprehensive Assessment Tool (NJCAT) to determine an individual's eligibility to receive division services. Each eligible individual is assigned a tier (ie: A, B, C, D, or E) based on the NJCAT, which equates to a dollar amount for the service. A is the lowest tier, translating to the lowest need and the lowest reimbursement rate, while E is the highest tier, translating to the highest need and the largest reimbursement rate. Not all DDD services are tier adjusted. Service and tier rates are then used to establish an individual’s annual budget for services. Individuals are reassessed through completion of a new NJ CAT every five years.