Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman YVONNE LOPEZ
District 19 (Middlesex)
Assemblyman WILLIAM F. MOEN, JR.
District 5 (Camden and Gloucester)
Assemblywoman SHANIQUE SPEIGHT
District 29 (Essex)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman Stanley, Assemblywoman McKnight, Assemblymen Conaway, Danielsen, Assemblywomen Quijano, Murphy, Assemblymen Atkins and Sampson
SYNOPSIS
Permits behavioral and mental health care providers to operate within homeless shelters.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning homeless shelters and behavioral and mental health and supplementing Title 26 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. As used in this section:
"Behavioral health care" means procedures or services, other than primary health care services, which are provided by a health care practitioner to a patient for the treatment of a mental illness, emotional disorder, or drug or alcohol use disorder that is of mild to moderate severity. "Behavioral health care" shall not include procedures or services that are provided for the treatment of severe mental illness, severe emotional disorder, or severe drug or alcohol use disorder.
"Behavioral health care provider" means a provider licensed or approved by the Department of Human Services to render behavioral health care services.
"Emergency shelter for the homeless" means a building or structure in which a public entity or a private, nonprofit organization provides shelter, or food and shelter, to individuals and families having neither a home nor the means to obtain a home or other temporary lodging.
"Mental health care professional" means a psychiatrist, psychologist, or clinical social worker licensed pursuant to Title 45 of the Revised Statutes.
b. A behavioral health care provider and a mental health care professional shall be authorized to jointly or separately provide behavioral or mental health care services to homeless persons within an emergency shelter for the homeless, in a manner to be determined by the Commissioners of Community Affairs and Human Services, the State Board of Medical Examiners, the State Board of Psychological Examiners, and the State Board of Social Work Examiners. A behavioral health care provider or mental health care professional may provide the services authorized pursuant to this section in response to emergencies, on a part-time or full-time basis, and within a temporary or permanent location within the emergency shelter for the homeless that is exclusively used by the behavioral health care provider or mental health care professional to provide such services within the shelter.
2. The Commissioners of Community Affairs and Human Services, the State Board of Medical Examiners, the State Board of Psychological Examiners, and the State Board of Social Work Examiners shall jointly or separately adopt rules and regulations, in accordance with the “Administrative Procedure Act,” P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), as are necessary to effectuate the provisions of this act.
3. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill permits behavioral and mental health care providers to operate within homeless shelters.
Under the bill, a behavioral health care provider and a mental health care professional are to be authorized to jointly or separately provide behavioral or mental health care services to homeless persons within an emergency shelter for the homeless. A behavioral health care provider or mental health care professional may provide such services in response to emergencies, on a part-time or full-time basis, and within a temporary or permanent location within the emergency shelter for the homeless that is exclusively used by the behavioral health care provider or mental health care professional.
The bill defines "behavioral health care provider" to mean a provider licensed or approved by the Department of Human Services to render behavioral health care services. "Behavioral health care" means procedures or services, other than primary health care services, which are provided by a health care practitioner to a patient for the treatment of a mental illness, emotional disorder, or drug or alcohol use disorder that is of mild to moderate severity. "Behavioral health care" does not include procedures or services that are provided for the treatment of severe mental illness, severe emotional disorder, or severe drug or alcohol use disorder. "Mental health care professional" means a psychiatrist, psychologist, or clinical social worker licensed pursuant to Title 45 of the Revised Statutes.