Sponsored by:
Assemblyman DANIEL R. BENSON
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
Assemblywoman VALERIE VAINIERI HUTTLE
District 37 (Bergen)
Assemblyman ANTHONY S. VERRELLI
District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman Mukherji
SYNOPSIS
Establishes Core Behavioral Health Crisis Services System.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act preventing suicidality and addressing mental health and substance use disorder crises and supplementing Title 26 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The Legislature finds and declares that the purpose of this act shall be to:
a. improve the quality of and access to behavioral health crisis services;
b. reduce the stigma surrounding suicide and mental health and substance use conditions;
c. further equity in addressing mental health and substance use conditions;
d. ensure a culturally and linguistically competent response to behavioral health crises;
e. save lives;
f. build a new system of equitable behavioral crisis services;
g. recognize that historically, crisis response placed marginalized communities, including those experiencing mental health crises, at disproportionate risk of poor outcomes; and
h. comply with the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act of 2020 and the Federal Communication Commission s rules adopted on July 16, 2020 to assure that all citizens and visitors of the State of New Jersey receive a consistent level of 9-8-8 and crisis behavioral health services regardless of where such person live, work, or travel in the State.
2. As used in this act:
9-8-8 Crisis Hotline Center or hotline center means a State-identified and funded center participating in the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Network to respond to Statewide or regional 9-8-8 calls.
9-8-8 Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Crisis Hotline means the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (NSPL) or its successor maintained by the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use under section 520E 3 of the federal Public Health Service Act.
Crisis receiving and stabilization services means facilities providing short-term observation and crisis stabilization services to all referrals in a home-like environment for no longer than 24 hours.
Mobile crisis teams means a
team providing professional onsite community-based intervention for individuals
who are experiencing a behavioral health crisis.
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline or NSPL means a national network of local crisis centers that provide free and confidential emotional support to people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Peers means individuals employed on the basis of their personal experience of mental illness, addiction, or both, and recovery therefrom, and who meet the State s peer certification requirements. Veterans Crisis Line or VCL means the Veterans Crisis Line maintained by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs pursuant to section 1720F(h) of Title 38 of the United States Code.
3. The Commissioner of Human Services shall, on or before July 16, 2022, designate a crisis hotline center or centers to provide crisis intervention services and crisis care coordination to individuals accessing the 9-8-8 suicide prevention and behavioral health crisis hotline from anywhere within the State 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
a. A designated hotline center shall have an active agreement with the administrator of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline for participation within the network.
b. A designated hotline center shall meet NSPL requirements and best practices guidelines for operational and clinical standards.
c. To ensure cohesive and coordinated crisis care, a designated hotline center shall utilize technology that is interoperable between and across crisis and emergency response systems used throughout the State and with the Administrator of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
(1) Departments within the executive branch shall promulgate 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 allow appropriate information sharing and communication between and across crisis and emergency response systems for the purpose of real-time crisis care coordination including, but not limited to, deployment of crisis and outgoing services and linked, flexible services specific to crisis response.
d. A designated hotline center shall have the authority to deploy crisis and outgoing services, including mobile crisis teams, and coordinate access to crisis receiving and stabilization services as appropriate and according to guidelines and best practices established by the NSPL.
e. A designated hotline center shall coordinate access to crisis receiving and stabilization services for individuals accessing the 9-8-8 suicide prevention and behavioral health crisis hotline through appropriate information sharing regarding availability of services.
f. The Commissioner of Human Services shall have primary oversight of suicide prevention and crisis service activities and essential coordination with a designated 9-8-8 hotline center, and shall work in concert with NSPL and VCL networks for the purposes of ensuring consistency of public messaging about 9-8-8 services.
g. A designated hotline center shall meet the requirements set forth by NSPL for serving high risk and specialized populations as identified by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, including training requirements and policies for transferring such callers to an appropriate specialized center or subnetworks within or outside the NSPL network and for providing linguistically and culturally competent care.
h. A designated hotline center shall provide follow-up services to individuals accessing the 9-8-8 suicide prevention and behavioral health crisis hotline consistent with guidance and policies established by the NSPL.
i. An annual report of the 9-8-8 suicide prevention and behavioral health crisis hotline s usage and services provided shall be transmitted to the Legislature and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
4. The Commissioner of Human Services shall provide onsite response ser