Sponsored by:
Assemblyman WILLIAM F. MOEN, JR.
District 5 (Camden and Gloucester)
Assemblyman DANIEL R. BENSON
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes public awareness campaign concerning programs and services for first responders, healthcare workers, other frontline workers, and their families experiencing mental health issues related to COVID-19 pandemic.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act establishing a public awareness campaign concerning first responders, healthcare workers, other frontline workers and their families experiencing mental health issues related to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and supplementing Title 30 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. The Commissioner of Human Services shall establish a public awareness campaign to provide information to the general public concerning the programs and services available for first responders, healthcare workers, other frontline workers, and their families experiencing mental health issues related to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, including, but not limited to, post-traumatic stress disorder , anxiety, depression, and substance use disorder .
b. The commissioner, in establishing the public awareness campaign, shall develop outreach efforts and provide information to the general public on:
(1) the link between mental health issues and the COVID-19 pandemic, including, but not limited to, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, and substance use disorder ;
(2) resources for first responders, healthcare workers, other frontline workers, and their families experiencing mental health issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic, including, but not limited to post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, and substance use disorder, including the programs and provided by the Department of Human Services and other federal, State, and local social services and mental health agencies during the COVID-19 pandemic;
(3) any telephone helpline established by the Department of Human Services for first responders and healthcare workers experiencing mental health issues due to their work during the COVID-19 pandemic, including, but not limited to, post-traumatic stress disorder , anxiety, depression, and substance use disorder; and
(4) anxiety reducing strategies and other methods to manage stress, depression, and other symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder during the COVID-19 pandemic.
c. The public awareness campaign shall target the general public and first responders, healthcare workers, other frontline workers, and their families experiencing mental health issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic, including, but not limited to, post-traumatic stress disorder , anxiety, depression, and substance use disorder, through a variety of media, including television, radio, print, and on the Department of Human Service’s Internet website.
d. The commissioner shall provide for the development of advertisements, by signs, billboards, placards, posters and displays placed on New Jersey Transit bus, rail, and light rail system, in English and Spanish, on the public awareness campaign established pursuant to subsection a. of this section.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill requires the Commissioner of Human Services to establish a public awareness campaign to provide information to the general public concerning the programs and services available for first responders, healthcare workers, other frontline workers, and their families experiencing mental health issues related to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, including, but not limited to, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, and substance use disorder.
In establishing the public awareness campaign, the commissioner will be required to develop outreach efforts and provide information to the general public on: the link between mental health issues and the COVID-19 pandemic, including, but not limited to, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, and substance use disorder; resources for first responders, healthcare workers, other frontline workers, and their families experiencing mental health issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the programs and services provided by the Department of Human Services (DHS) and other federal, State, and local social services and mental health agencies; any telephone helpline established by the Department of Human Services for first responders and healthcare workers experiencing mental health issues due to their work during the pandemic; and anxiety reducing strategies and other methods to manage stress, depression, and other symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Under the bill: the public awareness campaign is to target the general public and first responders, healthcare workers, other frontline workers, and their families experiencing mental health issues through a variety of media, including television, radio, print, and on the DHS’s Internet website; and the commissioner will provide for the development of advertisements, by signs, billboards, placards, posters and displays placed on New Jersey Transit bus, rail, and light rail system, in English and Spanish, on the public awareness campaign.