Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman JESSICA RAMIREZ
District 32 (Hudson)
Assemblywoman ALIXON COLLAZOS-GILL
District 27 (Essex and Passaic)
Assemblyman BENJIE E. WIMBERLY
District 35 (Bergen and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes Mental and Behavioral Health for Hispanics and Latinos Act; appropriates $1 million.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning mental and behavioral health, supplementing Title 26 of the Revised Statutes, and making an appropriation.
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 and Behavioral Health for Hispanics and Latinos Act.
2. The Commissioner of Health, in coordination with advocacy and mental and behavioral health organizations serving populations of Hispanic and Latino individuals or communities, shall develop and implement an outreach and education strategy to promote mental and behavioral health and reduce stigma associated with mental and behavioral health conditions and substance use disorders among Hispanic and Latino populations in this State, such strategy shall:
a. be designed to meet the diverse cultural and language needs of the various Hispanic and Latino Populations in the State and be developmentally and age appropriate;
b. increase awareness of symptoms of mental illnesses common among Hispanic and Latino populations, taking into account differences within subgroups, such as gender, gender identity, age, sexual orientation, or ethnicity, of such populations;
c. provide information on evidence-based, culturally and linguistically appropriate and adapted interventions and treatments;
d. ensure full participation of, and engage, both consumers and community members in the development and implementation of educational materials on mental and behavioral health;
e. seek to broaden the perspective among both individuals in these communities and stakeholders serving those communities to use a comprehensive public health approach to promoting behavioral health that addresses a holistic view of health by focusing on the intersection between behavioral and physical health; and
f. address the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on the mental and behavioral health of the Hispanic and Latino populations.
3. Beginning not later than one year after the date of enactment of this act and annually thereafter, the Commissioner of Health shall prepare and submit to the Governor and, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), the Legislature a report on the extent to which the strategy development and implemented pursuant to section 2 of this act improved mental and behavioral health outcomes associated with mental and behavioral health conditions and substance use disorders among Hispanic and Latino populations in this State.
4. There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Health the sum of $1,000,000 to effectuate the purposes of this act.
5. This act shall take effect 90 days after the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill establishes the Mental and Behavioral Health for Hispanics and Latinos Act.
Under the bill, the Commissioner of Health will be required to, in coordination with advocacy and mental and behavioral health organizations serving populations of Hispanic and Latino individuals or communities, develop and implement an outreach and education strategy to promote mental and behavioral health and reduce stigma associated with mental and behavioral health conditions and substance use disorders among Hispanic and Latino populations in this State.
The strategy will: be designed to meet the diverse cultural and language needs of the various Hispanic and Latino Populations in the State and be developmentally and age appropriate; increase awareness of symptoms of mental illnesses common among Hispanic and Latino populations, taking into account differences within subgroups; provide information on evidence-based, culturally and linguistically appropriate and adapted interventions and treatments; ensure full participation of, and engage, both consumers and community members in the development and implementation of educational materials on mental and behavioral health; seek to broaden the perspective among both individuals in these communities and stakeholders serving those communities to use a comprehensive public health approach to promoting behavioral health that addresses a holistic view of health by focusing on the intersection between behavioral and physical health; and address the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on the mental and behavioral health of the Hispanic and Latino populations.
Beginning not later than one year after the date of enactment of the bill and annually thereafter, the Commissioner of Health will prepare and submit to the Governor and the Legislature a report on the extent to which the strategy development and implemented pursuant to the bill improved mental and behavioral health outcomes associated with mental and behavioral health conditions and substance use disorders among Hispanic and Latino populations in this State.
The bill appropriates $1,000,000 from the General Fund to the Department of Health to effectuate the purposes of the bill.