A4700

An Act concerning persons with developmental disabilities served by the Department of Children and Families and supplementing Title 9 of the Revised Statutes.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. As used in this act:

"Department" means the Department of Children and Families.

"Division" means the Division of Children's System of Care in the Department of Children and Families.

"Eligible person with a developmental disability" or "eligible person" means a person with a developmental disability under 21 years of age receiving services or supports from the division.

2. a. The Division of Children's System of Care shall collect, and when practical maintain a database of, information about eligible persons with developmental disabilities pursuant to this section.

b. The division shall, within 12 months of the effective date of this act, collect and maintain data as specified in this section on persons declared eligible persons as of the effective date of this act. In the case of a person with a developmental disability who becomes eligible for services after the effective date of this act, the division shall collect the data no later than 60 days after the person is determined eligible for services by the division.

The data to be collected, and when practical maintained, for each eligible person shall include:

(1) the person's name and contact information, guardian, if applicable, and any primary caregivers;

(2) the person's age, gender, race or ethnicity, and disability or diagnosis, as applicable;

(3) a needs assessment categorized, at a minimum, by the person's need for residential services, educational services, family support services, medical support services, and behavioral support services; and

(4) a list of services that the person or the person's parent or guardian has indicated the person would like to receive, including residential, educational, and day support services.

c. The division shall ensure that eligible persons are re-assessed as to their needs and services as needed.

3. The division shall annually notify, in writing, the person receiving services and the parent or guardian of the person of the following:

a. the services the person is currently receiving from the division and, in the case of an individual budget to purchase services, the amount of that budget, and the services that are being purchased with the funds from that budget;

b. the person's status on a waiting list, if any, and how many persons with developmental disabilities on the list are expected to be served in the next 12 months;

c. the manner in which the person or the person's parent or guardian can easily correct or update, as applicable: the person's contact information; information concerning how the person is spending funds in an individual budget, if any; the person's expected future service needs; and any other relevant information that requires updating; and

d. information about where the person with a developmental disability or a family member or guardian can find information about services for persons with developmental disabilities, including the link to the department's official website.

4. The division shall annually publish a report, to be made available on the department's website, containing non-identifying aggregate data about eligible persons with developmental disabilities. The report shall, at a minimum, include:

a. the number of eligible persons tabulated by county and other demographic information, including, but not limited to, age, gender, race or ethnicity, and disability or diagnosis, as applicable;

b. an explanation of how the division determines to place an eligible person on a waiting list, what criteria determine a person's priority level and ranking within that priority level on the list, and how a person is selected from the list to receive services;

c. For each waiting list maintained by the division, within each county:

(1) the number of persons who are waiting for: residential services; educational or day support services; family support services, and, if so, which supports; and behavioral support services; and

(2) the year in which a person or the person's parent or guardian requested placement on any State waiting list;

d. the number of eligible persons served in each residential setting during the preceding 12 months, including, but not limited to, a developmental center, family member's home, group home, supervised apartment, community care residence, nursing home, or out-of-State placement;

e. tabulated by county: the number of eligible persons who are expected to transition from receiving services from a school district to receiving services from the division for each year; the expected service needs of these persons; and the total projected cost of services for these persons; and

f. during the preceding 12 months, tabulated by county:

(1) the number of eligible persons who were removed from any waiting list of the division; the reason each person was removed from the list; and how long each person had been waiting for services or supports before being removed from the list;

(2) the number of eligible persons who were classified as an "emergency";

(3) for those persons who received residential services, the percentage who received the services in a developmental center, group home, supervised apartment, community care residence, nursing home, out-of-State placement, or any other residential setting; and

(4) the number of eligible persons who previously but no longer receive services from the division.

5. The department shall report to the Governor, and to the Legislature pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), two years after the effective date of this act as to: the progress of the data collection and reporting required pursuant to this act; and the viability of including additional data within its data collection and reporting practices.

6. The Commissioner of Children and Families, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), shall adopt rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of sections 2 and 3 of this act.

7. This act shall take effect on the first day of the 13th month next following the date of enactment, except that the Commissioner of Children and Families may take such anticipatory action in advance thereof as shall be necessary for the implementation of this act.

STATEMENT

This bill requires the Division of Children's System of Care (CSOC) in the Department of Children and Families (DCF) to collect data and maintain a database of information about eligible persons with developmental disabilities who are receiving services from CSOC. CSOC is also required annually to: provide these persons and their parents or guardians with details about the services they are receiving, including their status on any waiting list for services; and publish a written report containing non-identifying aggregate data about the eligible persons, which would be made available on the DCF website.

The data to be collected, and when practical maintained, is to include, for each eligible person: 1) the person's contact information, guardian, if applicable, and any primary caregivers; 2) the person's age, gender, race or ethnicity, and disability or diagnosis, as applicable; 3) a needs assessment categorized by residential, educational, family support, medical support, and behavioral support services; and 4) a list of services the person would like to receive, including residential, educational, and day support services. The bill also provides that CSOC is to ensure that eligible persons are re-assessed as to their needs and services as needed.

The annual notification to an eligible person and the parent or guardian is to include: in the case of a person who has an individual budget to purchase services, the amount of that budget and the services that are being purchased with those funds; in the case of a waiting list, how many persons on the list are expected to be served in the next 12 months; the manner in which corrections can be made to a person's contact information; information concerning how the person is spending funds in an individual budget, if any, and expected future service needs; and information about where information can be found about services for persons with developmental disabilities, including the link to the DCF website.

The annual published report is to include: 1) the number of eligible persons tabulated by county and by age, gender, race or ethnicity, and disability or diagnosis, as applicable; 2) an explanation of how CSOC determines placement of an eligible person on a waiting list, and the level of priority on the list; 3) for each waiting list, the number of persons who are waiting for specific services and the year in which the placement on any State waiting list was requested; 4) the number of eligible persons served in each residential setting during the preceding 12 months, including, but not limited to, a developmental center, family member's home, group home, supervised apartment, community care residence, nursing home, or out-of-State placement; and 5) tabulated by county, the number of eligible persons who are expected to transition from receiving services from a school district to receiving services from CSOC, and the expected service needs and total projected cost of services for these persons.

The annual report also would include, by county and during the preceding 12 months: 1) the number of eligible persons who were removed from a CSOC waiting list and the reason for removal; 2) how long each person had been waiting for services before being removed from the list; 3) the number of eligible persons who were classified as an "emergency"; 4) the percentage of eligible persons who received services while residing in a developmental center, group home, supervised apartment, community care residence, nursing home, out-of-State placement, or any other residential setting; and (5) the number of eligible persons who previously but no longer receive services from CSOC.

The bill requires DCF to report to the Governor and the Legislature two years after the bill's effective date on its progress in data collection, reporting the information required by the bill, and the viability of including additional data in its data collection and reporting practices.