New Jersey § 30:4-177

§ 30:4-177.

The Commissioners of Human Services and Children and Families shall: a. establish a mechanism through which an inventory of all county-based public and

private inpatient, outpatient, and residential behavioral health services, by service

area served, if applicable, including the number of treatment beds or treatment capacity

of the service, is made available to the public; b. establish and implement a methodology, based on nationally recognized criteria,

to quantify the usage of and need for inpatient, outpatient, and residential behavioral

health services throughout the State, taking into account projected patient care level

needs; c. based on the inventories, annually assess whether sufficient inpatient, outpatient,

and residential behavioral health services are available in each service area of the

State in order to ensure timely access to appropriate behavioral health services for

persons who are voluntarily admitted or involuntarily committed to inpatient facilities

for persons with mental illness in the State, and for persons who need behavioral

health services provided by outpatient and community-based programs that support the

wellness and recovery for these persons; d. annually identify the funding for existing mental health programs; e. consult with the Community Mental Health Citizens Advisory Board and the Mental

Health Planning Council, the Divisions of Developmental Disabilities and Addiction

Services in the Department of Human Services, the Department of Corrections, the Department

of Health and Senior Services, and family consumer and other mental health constituent

groups, to review the inventories and make recommendations to the Departments of Human

Services and Children and Families regarding overall mental health services development

and resource needs; f. consult with the New Jersey Hospital Association, the Hospital Alliance of New

Jersey, and the New Jersey Council of Teaching Hospitals in carrying out the purposes

of this act. The commissioners shall also seek input from Statewide organizations that advocate

for persons with mental illness and their families; and g. annually report on departmental activities in accordance with this act to the Governor

and to the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee and the Assembly

Human Services Committee, or their successor committees. The first report shall be provided no later than 18 months after the effective date

of this act.