SENATE, No. 172

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 1996 SESSION

By Senators McGREEVEY and CODEY

An Act concerning a study of State psychiatric hospitals and developmental centers, rooming and boarding houses, community residences for the developmentally disabled and mentally ill, and residential health care facilities, and making an appropriation therefor.

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

    1. a. The Commissioners of Human Services and Health shall jointly authorize an independent public or private agency or organization to prepare a report concerning the services provided by each State psychiatric hospital or State developmental center listed in R.S.30:1-7 and a representative number of each of the following living arrangements: a rooming or boarding house as defined in section 3 of the "Rooming and Boarding House Act of 1979," P.L.1979, c.496 (C.55:13B-3), a community residence for the developmentally disabled and community residence for the mentally ill as defined in section 2 of P.L.1977, c.448 (C.30:11B-2), and a residential health care facility as defined in section 1 of P.L.1953, c.212 (C.30:11A-1).

    b. The report shall evaluate the services provided by each facility or living arrangement provided for in subsection a. of this section, including but not limited to, the ability of the facility or living arrangement to provide patients or residents with any necessary medications and with assistance with meals, personal hygiene needs, personal financial matters, or other personal needs, as appropriate.

    c. In addition, the report shall include a study of patients who were discharged from a State psychiatric hospital listed in R.S.30:1-7 during the two-year period preceding the effective date of this act. The agency or organization shall solicit information, by municipality, from community mental health agencies, case managers and other community mental health personnel regarding the number of former patients of a State psychiatric hospital discharged to the municipality; the ability of mental health, medical, residential and support services to provide access to needed services for those patients within 30 days of their discharge; the number of former patients receiving inadequate services; the rate of readmission to a State psychiatric hospital or admission to a private hospital or other facility among these persons; and the incidence of correctional detention or incarceration among these persons. The report shall also include data from community mental health agencies concerning their ability to provide needed services to patients discharged from a facility, including the number of patients served by the agency, the types of services provided, and the municipalities to which these services are provided. In addition, the agency or organization preparing the report shall receive from communities that have been impacted by the presence of patients discharged from a State psychiatric hospital, information about the nature and extent of that impact.

    2. The independent public or private agency or organization preparing a report pursuant to section 1 of this act shall complete its report within 12 months of being authorized to prepare the report. The Commissioners of Human Services and Health shall submit the report to the Governor and the Legislature.

    3. There is appropriated $95,000 from the General Fund to the Department of Human Services to effectuate the purposes of this act.

    4. This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire upon submission of the report to the Governor and Legislature.

STATEMENT

    This bill requires the Commissioners of Human Services and Health to jointly authorize an independent public or private agency or organization to prepare a report concerning the services provided by each State psychiatric hospital or State developmental center listed in R.S.30:1-7 and a representative number of each of the following living arrangements: a rooming or boarding house as defined in section 3 of the "Rooming and Boarding House Act of 1979," P.L.1979, c.496 (C.55:13B-3), a community residence for the developmentally disabled and community residence for the mentally ill as defined in section 2 of P.L. 1977, c.448 (C.30:11B-2), and a residential health care facility as defined in section 1 of P.L.1953, c.212 (C.30:11A-1).

    In addition, the report shall include a study of patients who were discharged from a State psychiatric hospital during the two-year period preceding the effective date of this bill. This information shall be solicited, by municipality, from community mental health agencies, case managers and other community mental health personnel.

    The purpose of the report is to evaluate independently the performance of the existing State institutions and the mechanisms that currently are available for deinstitutionalized residents and patients prior to making any major policy changes which would affect some of the most vulnerable populations in our State.

    Specifically, the report shall be designed to evaluate the services provided by each facility or living arrangement, including but not limited to, the ability to provide patients or residents with any necessary medications and with assistance with meals, personal hygiene needs, personal financial matters, or other personal needs, as appropriate.

    With respect to patients discharged from a State psychiatric hospital, the report is to contain information regarding the number of former mental patients and developmentally disabled residents living in the municipality, the ability of mental health, medical, residential and developmental disability support services to provide access to needed services for those former patients or residents within 30 days of their leaving the psychiatric hospital, the number of former patients or residents receiving inadequate services, the rate of readmission to a State psychiatric hospital or developmental center or admission to a private hospital or other facility, and the incidence of correctional detention or incarceration among these persons.

    The agency or organization preparing the report also shall receive information from communities that have been impacted by the presence of patients discharged from a State psychiatric hospital.

    The bill requires the agency or organization preparing the report to complete its report within 12 months of being authorized to prepare the report. The report shall be submitted to the Governor and the Legislature.

    Lastly, the bill appropriates $95,000 from the General Fund for the report preparation.

Requires independent report on State institutions and other facilities and impact of patients discharged from State psychiatric hospitals; appropriates $95,000.