CHAPTER 17

 

An Act concerning the Division of Developmental Disabilities' community residential and day program waiting list.


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


    1. The Legislature finds and declares that:

    a. Between June 30, 1988 and April 30, 1996, the number of persons on the Division of Developmental Disabilities' Alternate Living Waiting List increased from more than 1,500 to over 4,455;

    b. As of April 30, 1996, nearly 900 persons had no day program available;

    c. The $80 million in bond funds available to the Division of Developmental Disabilities from the Developmental Disabilities' Waiting List Reduction and Human Services Facilities Construction Fund will only deal with the capital requirements of the approximately 2,000 persons who are in Categories 1 and 2 of the waiting list;

    d. The March 28, 1996 initiative announced by Governor Whitman to develop community residential programs for approximately 600 developmentally disabled persons between FY 1997 and FY 1999 at an annual cost of $32 million will only maintain the waiting list at current levels, even though the waiting list increases by one client per day;

    e. Statistics from the New Jersey Department of Education, Office of Special Education Program indicate that there will be a significant increase in the number of multiply handicapped classified pupils who will graduate from educational programs and that such pupils are likely to require community services from the Division of Developmental Disabilities; and

    f. The Division of Developmental Disabilities does not have a long-term plan to eliminate the current and future waiting list and to provide for the associated capital and operational costs needed to address the current and future waiting list.


C.30:6D-42 Preparation, submission of plan to eliminate waiting list.

    2. a. The Commissioner of Human Services shall prepare and submit a plan to the Governor and the Legislature within 180 days after the effective date of this act to eliminate the current and future Division of Developmental Disabilities' waiting list by the year 2008.

    b. The plan shall include:

    1. Statistical information on the current and projected increase in the waiting list;

    2. Financial information on the capital funds necessary to eliminate the current and future waiting list by the year 2008; and

    3. Financial information on the amount of additional State, federal and other funds that may be required annually for operating costs associated with eliminating the waiting list by the year 2008.

    c. In developing the plan, the commissioner shall conduct public hearings and obtain public input from persons with developmental disabilities or their families or guardians and providers of services to the developmental disabilities community.

    d. The commissioner shall update the statistical and financial data in the plan annually and submit the updated plan to the Governor and the Legislature by December 31 of each year.


    3. This act shall take effect immediately.





Approved January 31, 1997.