A3005 1R

An Act concerning mental health programs at institutions of higher education and supplementing chapter 3B of Title 18A of the New Jersey 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 “Mental Health Early Action on Campus Act.”

2. As used in this act, “telehealth” means the evaluation, diagnosis, or interpretation of electronically transmitted patient-specific data between a remote location and a licensed health care professional that generates interaction or treatment recommendations.

3. a. An institution of higher education shall implement a mental health awareness program. The purpose of the program shall be to:

(1) identify students with mental health needs and connect them to mental health support services;

(2) increase access to mental health support services on campus;

(3) ¹[increase access to] maintain and build, to the extent possible, relationships with community¹ mental health support services ¹[in the surrounding communities] and providers, and distribute information concerning these relationships to students as appropriate¹;

(4) empower students through peer-to-peer support and training on identifying mental health needs and resources; and

(5) reduce the administrative policies that place an undue burden on students seeking medical leave for their mental health conditions through technical assistance and training.

b. An institution’s mental health awareness program, required pursuant to subsection a. of this section, shall include, but need not be limited to:

(1) the development and implementation of an annual student orientation session ¹for new students¹ designed to raise awareness about mental health conditions;

(2) the assessment of courses and seminars available to students through their regular academic experience and the implementation of mental health curricula if opportunities for integration exist;

(3) the creation and prominent display on the institution’s website or mobile application of information dedicated specifically to the mental health resources available to students on campus and in the surrounding community;

(4) the distribution of messages related to mental health resources that encourage help-seeking behavior through the on-line learning platform¹, the student portal¹ of the institution, ¹[including on-line mental health screenings] social media, e-mail or other means at the discretion of the institution¹, at least once per term and during periods of high stress in the academic year including, but not limited to, mid-terms or final examinations. The messages and strategies shall be based on documented best practices; and

(5) beginning in the first full academic year three years following the effective date of this act, ¹[the implementation of an on-line screening tool to raise awareness and establish a mechanism to link or refer students to services] the provision of links on the institution’s websites to on-line screening tools validated by mental health professionals or organizations¹. The screenings and services shall be available to students the entire academic year and shall, at a minimum:

(a) include validated screening tools ¹, if available,¹ for depression, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, substance abuse, alcohol-use disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, and bipolar disorder¹. If validated screening tools are not available, links to nationally recognized resources regarding the mental health topic shall be provided¹;

(b) provide ¹on the institution’s website information about¹ resources for immediate connection to services, if indicated, including emergency resources;

(c) provide ¹on the institution’s website¹ general information about all mental health-related resources available to students ¹on campus¹; and

(d) maintain the anonymity of students using the screening ¹[and services] tools linked from the institution’s website¹.

4. a. The ¹[governing board] president¹ of an institution of higher education ¹, or a designee,¹ shall establish ¹[an expert] a¹ panel ¹with expertise in college mental health¹ to develop and implement policies and procedures to:

(1) advise students, faculty, and staff on the proper procedures for identifying and addressing the needs of students exhibiting symptoms of mental health conditions;

(2) promote understanding of the rules of section 504 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. s.794) and the federal Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. s.12101 et seq.) to increase knowledge and understanding of student protections under the law; and

(3) provide training if appropriate.

b. An institution of higher education shall require all student advisors, resident assistants in student housing facilities, and campus security personnel to participate in a national Mental Health First Aid training course or a similar program prior to the commencement of their duties. The training shall include the policies and procedures developed pursuant to subsection a. of this section.

5. An institution of higher education ¹[shall] may, at its discretion,¹ establish and implement a student peer support ¹or peer educator¹ program. The program shall utilize student peers to ¹raise awareness of mental health on campus and in some instances may¹ support students living with mental health conditions on campus. Peer support ¹or peer educator¹ programs may be housed within resident assistance programs, counseling centers, or wellness centers on campus. A peer support program shall utilize best practices for peer support ¹[including, but not limited to:

a. utilizing the tenets of the recovery model for mental health developed by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration;

b. adequate planning and preparation, including standardizing guidance and practices, identifying needs of the target population, and aligning program goals to meet those needs;

c. clearly articulating policies, specifically concerning role boundaries and confidentiality;

d. systematic screening with defined selection criteria for peer supporters including, but not limited to, communication skills, leadership ability, character, previous experience or training, and ability to serve as a positive role model;

e. identifying benefits from peer status, including but not limited to, experiential learning, social support, leadership, and improved self-confidence;

f. continuing education for peer supporters to support each other and improve peer support skills; and

g. flexibility in availability by offering services through drop-in immediate support and the ability to book appointments]¹.

6. a. An institution of higher education ¹[shall] may¹ form strategic partnerships with local mental health service providers ¹at its discretion¹ to improve overall campus mental health wellness and augment on-campus capacity. The partnerships ¹[shall] may¹ include linkage agreements with off-campus mental health service providers that establish a foundation for referrals for students when a student’s mental health needs cannot be met on campus due to capacity concerns or preference of the student. The partnerships ¹[shall] may¹ include:

(1) avenues for on-campus and off-campus mental health service providers to increase visibility to students via marketing and outreach;

(2) opportunities to engage the student body through student outreach initiatives including, but not limited to, mindfulness workshops or campus-wide wellness fairs; and

(3) opportunities to support mental health awareness and training provided for pursuant to this act.

b. Through a combination of on-campus capacity, off-campus linkage agreements with mental health service providers, and contracted telehealth therapy services, each institution shall attempt to reach a ¹clinician-to-student¹ benchmark ratio ¹[of one clinical, non-student staff member to 1,250 students] in line with best practices recommended by national organizations that conduct research in college mental health¹. If linkage agreements are used, the agreements shall include the capacity of students that the mental health service providers are expected to serve within the agency. Two years after the effective date of this act, and once every five years thereafter, the Technical Assistance Center established pursuant to section 7 of this act shall propose to the institutions an updated ratio based on actual ratios in this State and any new information related to appropriate benchmarks for clinician-to-student ratios. ¹[The updated benchmark shall represent a ratio of no less than one clinical, non-student staff member to 1,250 students]¹.

c. An institution of higher education shall work with local resources, including on-campus mental health counseling centers or wellness centers, local mental health service providers, or non-providers, such as affiliates of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, and any other resources to meet the awareness and training requirements required pursuant to section 3 and section 4 of this act.

7. The Secretary of Higher Education shall develop a Technical Assistance Center. The center’s responsibilities shall include:

a. developing standardized policies for medical leave related to mental health conditions for students, which may be adopted by an institution of higher education;

b. providing tailored support to the institutions in reviewing policies related to students living with mental health conditions and their academic standing;

c. establishing initial standards for policies and procedures of the expert panel established pursuant to subsection a. of section 4 of this act;

d. disseminating best practices concerning peer support programs established pursuant to section 5 of this act, including widely-accepted selection criteria for individuals serving in a peer support role;

e. developing Statewide standards and best practices for partnerships between local mental health agencies and institutions of higher education;

f. collecting, analyzing, and disseminating data related to mental health needs and academic engagement throughout the State;

g. housing the data collected by each institution of higher education pursuant to section 8 of this act and analyzing and disseminating best practices to each institution and to the public based on that data;

h. monitoring and evaluating the strategic partnerships between local mental health service providers and institutions of higher education required pursuant to section 6 of this act to ensure capacity is met by each institution; and

i. facilitating a learning community across all institutions of higher education to support capacity building and learning across the institutions.

8. An institution of higher education shall evaluate the programs and services required pursuant to this act for effectiveness and quality in the following manner:

a. For the mental health awareness program established pursuant to section 3 of this act and the training required pursuant to section 4 of this act, ¹[the] an institution shall establish its own¹ monitoring ¹and assessment¹ measures ¹to determine the effectiveness of its program which¹ shall include, but ¹[are]¹ not ¹be¹ limited to:

(1) ¹[an increased understanding of mental health conditions] evaluation of training programs and monitoring of participation in, and attendance at, events, workshops, and training¹;

(2) ¹[a reduced stigma toward mental health conditions] monitoring of visits to the counseling center or referrals made to external therapists¹;

(3) ¹[an increased understanding of mental health resources available to students] surveys of students to understand their needs and awareness of services¹; ¹and¹

(4) ¹[an increased understanding of resources for mental health emergencies available to students; and

(5) viewing] monitoring of the number of views¹ of the institution’s mental health resource website pages ¹, social media,¹ or mobile applications;

b. For the student peer support program ¹or peer educator¹ established pursuant to section 5 of this act, the monitoring measures shall ¹[include, but are not limited to] be determined by the institution and may include¹:

(1) ¹[improved symptomatology;

(2)]¹ connection or referral to additional services, if needed;

¹[(3)] (2)¹ student satisfaction;

¹[(4)] (3)¹ wait time for drop-in appointments;

¹[(5)] (4)¹ wait time for scheduled appointments; and

¹[(6)] (5)¹ satisfaction with the training curriculum for peer supporters; and

c. For the partnerships with local mental health service providers formed pursuant to section 6 of this act, the monitoring measures shall ¹[include, but are not limited to] be determined by the institution and may include¹:

(1) ¹average¹ wait time for ¹[drop-in]¹ appointments for on-campus or off-campus telehealth therapy providers;

(2) ¹[wait time for scheduled appointments for on-campus or off-campus telehealth therapy providers;

(3)]¹ the ¹clinician-to-student¹ ratio ¹[of clinical, non-student staff to student population]¹ and the number of linkage agreements ¹[and] ,¹ contracts ¹, and mental health professionals for referral¹ in place based on student population;

¹[(4)] (3) reports of¹ student satisfaction with on-campus or off-campus telehealth therapy providers;

¹[(5) the range of treatment models offered to students;

(6) the average length of stay in treatment;

(7)] (4)¹ the number and range of student outreach initiatives, including but not limited to, ¹[telehealth]¹ mindfulness workshops or campus-wide wellness fairs; and

¹[(8)] (5)¹ the annual number of students being served.

9. This act shall take effect immediately.