SENATE, No. 1692
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
INTRODUCED NOVEMBER 18, 1996
By Senators BASSANO, CODEY, Connors, Palaia, Ciesla and Matheussen
An Act concerning funding for community mental health and developmental disability services and supplementing Title 30 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Community Mental Health and Developmental Disability Services Investment Act."
2. The Legislature finds and declares that:
a. It is desirable for persons with serious mental illness, including children and adolescents with serious emotional disturbances, as well as persons with developmental disabilities, to receive treatment in their home community;
b. The availability of a range of community-based services will enable many persons who might otherwise require continued institutionalization to return to the community and allow the State to reduce its longstanding reliance on State inpatient care for adults with serious mental illness, and children and adolescents with serious emotional disturbances, as well as persons with developmental disabilities. As more services are provided at the local level, there is a compelling State interest in assuring that these services are coordinated and that resources are equitably distributed throughout the State;
c. As expenditures for State inpatient resources are reduced, additional funding should be invested in community-based mental health services for persons with serious mental illness, including children and adolescents with serious emotional disturbances, as well as community-based services for persons with developmental disabilities; and
d. There is a compelling State interest to provide assistance to communities and State employees who will be impacted by any anticipated significant service reductions in State psychiatric hospitals or developmental centers.
3. As used in this act:
"Children and adolescents with serious emotional disturbances" means individuals under 18 years of age who meet criteria established by the commissioner, which shall include children and adolescents who are in psychiatric crisis, or children and adolescents who have a designated diagnosis of mental illness under the most recent edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and whose severity and duration of mental illness result in substantial functional disability.
"Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Human Services.
"Community mental health and developmental disability services" means the following services for persons with serious mental illness, or for persons with developmental disabilities, as appropriate:
a. emergency and crisis services provided in programs licensed or approved by the commissioner;
b. case management services;
c. outpatient services which provide an adequate level of treatment and rehabilitation to persons with serious mental illness;
d. residential services, other than inpatient services, provided in programs licensed or approved by the commissioner and in long-term health care facilities licensed by the Department of Health, including, but not limited to, assisted living residences, comprehensive personal care homes and residential health care facilities;
e. psychiatric rehabilitation services, including, but not limited to, supported employment, supported living, psychosocial clubhouse and other partial care modalities;
f. other community support services, including, but not limited to, consumer advocacy, consumer operated self-help activities, drop-in centers, and family education and support services;
g. other services not included in subsections a. through f. which are directed toward the alleviation of a developmental disability or toward the social, personal, physical or economic habilitation or rehabilitation of a person with a developmental disability, and provided by an agency or program approved by the commissioner; and
h. other services as approved by the commissioner.
"Department" means the Department of Human Services.
"Developmental disability" means a developmental disability as defined in the "Developmentally Disabled Rights Act," P.L.1977, c.82 (C.30:6D-1 et seq.).
"Facility" means a State psychiatric hospital or developmental center operated by the Department of Human Services.
"Persons with serious mental illness" means individuals who meet criteria established by the commissioner, which shall include persons who are in psychiatric crisis, or persons who have a designated diagnosis of mental illness under the most recent edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and whose severity and duration of mental illness result in substantial functional disability. Persons with serious mental illness shall include children and adolescents with serious emotional disturbances.
4. The commissioner, in consultation with the Commissioner of Personnel, shall issue to the Governor and the Legislature, no later than one year after the effective date of this act, a report concerning the retraining and continuation of employment of persons whose employment in a facility may be terminated because of a significant service reduction in that facility which is anticipated to occur within five years after the effective date of this act. The report shall include, but not be limited to:
a. specific proposals to implement transitional employment arrangements with State and county government agencies and voluntary agencies;
b. specific proposals to provide for the development of appropriate retraining programs;
c. specific proposals to provide for continuity of employment and utilization of alternatives to layoffs; and
d. specific proposals to provide for the active participation of the legal bargaining representatives of the affected employees, where appropriate, in the planning for and implementation of mechanisms to ensure continuity of employment.
5. The commissioner shall establish a task force on the future uses of facility property for a facility in which the commissioner determines that a significant service reduction has occurred. The task force shall include representatives from the Departments of Labor and Commerce and Economic Development and from the county in which the facility is located. The task force shall be advisory in nature and shall have the following duties and responsibilities:
a. solicit and receive recommendations concerning possible alternative uses of land and buildings to be vacated by the facility;
b. consult with State and county government officials regarding possible future uses of facility property;
c. receive input from the community concerning the future use of facility property;
d. develop a master plan to be submitted to the commissioner, containing recommendations for the use of the land and buildings; and
e. hold one or more public hearings to receive input from the community concerning the elements of the master plan and review and consider any recommendations received at the hearing prior to finalizing the master plan.
6. a. The commissioner shall take such actions as are necessary to ensure the provision of adequate and appropriate community mental health or developmental disability services, as appropriate, in any area affected by a significant service reduction in a facility.
b. Funds appropriated by the Legislature for the development, expansion or operation of community mental health or developmental disability services in an area affected by a significant service reduction in a facility shall be made available to the department to provide grants to one or more counties. A county may directly provide services or contract with a provider of services, or the department may contract directly with a provider of services in any area in which a county elects not to provide services.
c. As a condition of receiving a grant from the department, a county shall develop and submit to the commissioner for his approval a community services plan, in accordance with regulations adopted by the commissioner, which contains a description of plans for the provision of community mental health or developmental disability services, as appropriate, within the county. Two or more counties may jointly submit a plan to the commissioner for his approval.
d. The commissioner shall allocate funds appropriated pursuant to this section in accordance with the following formula: (1) 50% of the funds shall be allocated on a pro rata basis to one or more counties according to an estimate of the number of persons with serious mental illness or persons with developmental disabilities, as appropriate, who are residents thereof, and including residents who are patients or residents, as appropriate, in facilities located within another county; (2) 25% of the funds shall be allocated based upon the disparity between the estimated number of persons with serious mental illness or developmental disabilities, as appropriate, who are in need of services and the amount of funding for the appropriate services for each county; and (3) the remainder of the funds shall be allocated based upon the efficiency and effectiveness of the use of funding within a county for the delivery of services to persons with serious mental illness or persons with developmental disabilities, as appropriate, and other relevant factors which require the development of new mental health or developmental disability services, as appropriate, as determined by the commissioner.
e. Grants provided pursuant to this section shall not be used for capital costs associated with the development of community mental health or developmental disability services; except that, with the approval of the commissioner, these funds may be used for program development costs associated with these services; however, all monies received by the State from the sale of facility property shall be earmarked exclusively for capital and equipment costs associated with the development of community housing for persons with serious mental illness or developmental disabilies, according to criteria to be established by the commissioner.
f. Prior to entering into a contract with a provider of services for the provision of community mental health or developmental disability services, the department or county, as appropriate, shall consider the following:
(1) the service needs of persons with serious mental illness or persons with developmental disabilities, as appropriate, in the area to be covered by the contract;
(2) the capacity of the provider to meet identified service needs and specified performance standards related to access, admission, referral, and service coordination and delivery, which are developed by the department or county, as appropriate;
(3) the extent to which the services authorized by the contract will be integrated with other available services in the area to more effectively maintain persons with serious mental illness or persons with developmental disabilities, as appropriate, in the community;
(4) the availability of resources for these services;
(5) the extent to which community mental health or developmental disability services authorized by the contract are consistent and integrated with plans prepared and approved by the department or county, as appropriate; and
(6) the extent to which the contract conforms with minimum contractual requirements established by the commissioner.
g. The commissioner is authorized to make inspections and examine records of a county government agency receiving State aid under this section or a provider of services which directly contracts with the department for the provision of community mental health or developmental disability services.
7. No provision of this act shall be interpreted to create an entitlement for any individual to receive community mental health or developmental disability services.
8. The commissioner, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), shall adopt rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of this act.
9. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill is intended to facilitate the redirection of State mental health and developmental disability services funding from institutional settings to community-based programs by ensuring an orderly and deliberative approach to the downsizing of State psychiatric hospitals and developmental centers and establishing a formula for community-based program expenditures from monies made available by service reductions in the psychiatric hospitals and developmental centers.
"Community Mental Health and Developmental Disability Services Investment Act."