ASSEMBLY HEALTH COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY, No. 5751

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  DECEMBER 11, 2025

      The Assembly Health Committee reports favorably Assembly Bill No. 5751.

The bill directs the Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services in the Department of Human Services to establish the Children’s Partial Hospitalization Pilot Program.  The goal of this pilot program is to expand the availability of partial hospitalization services for children ages five through 14 by providing NJ FamilyCare reimbursement for partial hospitalization services provided at non-hospital based locations. 

     Children’s partial hospitalization services are intensive, highly structured outpatient treatment services that provide individualized, outcomes-oriented psychiatric services designed for youth and young adults and that are intended to minimize the need for inpatient hospitalization.  Currently, to qualify for NJ FamilyCare reimbursement, partial hospitalization services must be provided in a hospital setting. 

     Under the bill, the division will select one applicant to participate in the pilot program.  The eligible applicant will: demonstrate an established plan for implementation; exclusively provide partial hospitalization services to children ages five through 14; meet all existing federal and State requirements for reimbursement of children’s partial hospitalization services under NJ FamilyCare, except that the service delivery location need not be a licensed hospital; and apply to the Department of Children and Families for approval as a provider within the Children’s System of Care. 

     No later than 36 months after the division selects the pilot’s participant, the division will submit to the Governor and to the Legislature, a report summarizing the program’s implementation to date, and recommendations for the program’s continuation.  The pilot program will expire 36 months after the division selects the pilot’s participant.