A5514

An Act establishing the Firefighter Critical Mental Health Assistance Grant Program, supplementing Title 30 of the Revised Statutes, and making an appropriation.

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

1. The Legislature finds and declares:

a. Due to the nature of firefighting, with its associated risks, danger, and stress, firefighters face a high probability of developing post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental illnesses.

b. Firefighters commonly feel that disclosure of mental illness will result in negative professional consequences up to and including job loss, creating a culture in which firefighters often do not divulge mental health struggles and do not seek appropriate and necessary treatment.

c. Family members of firefighters often face unique stressors related to their loved ones’ employment and may have an elevated need for mental health services.

d. For the safety of firefighters, their families, and the members of the public served by firefighters, it is critical for there to be systems in place that address mental health and establish an environment in which firefighters and their families feel comfortable seeking mental health services.

2. As used in P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill):

“Family member” means a spouse, domestic partner, child, or parent of, or any other family member related by blood or by law to a firefighter who resides in the same home as the firefighter.

“Firefighter" means any full-time paid firefighter employed by a public fire department.

"Mental health provider" means a psychiatrist, a psychologist, an advanced practice nurse practitioner with a specialty in psychiatric mental health, a clinical social worker, a professional counselor, or a marriage and family therapist who is licensed to provide mental health services pursuant to Title 45 of the Revised Statutes.

“Public fire department” means any department of a municipality, county, fire district or the State or any agency thereof having employees engaged in firefighting.

3. a. There is hereby established in the Department of Human Services the Firefighter Critical Mental Health Assistance Grant Program. The program shall award grants to mental health providers to provide confidential mental health services to firefighters or members of their immediate families who are in a mental health crisis or suicidal.

b. The Commissioner of Human Services shall develop an application by which a mental health services provider may apply for a grant for funding to provide mental health services pursuant to subsection a. of this section. The commissioner shall establish selection criteria for the awarding of grants under the program. Consideration shall be given to the geographical location of mental health providers and the areas where they provide services in order to facilitate patients traveling less than one hour to receive mental health services, to the greatest extent possible. The commissioner shall provide notice of the availability of funding for this program and make the application available on the department's Internet website. Upon receipt of an application, the commissioner shall review the application and, subject to the availability of funds, award a grant to each approved grant applicant.

c. The commissioner shall establish program guidelines for the provision of mental health services pursuant to subsection a. of this section and shall publish a list of approved mental health providers on the department’s Internet website.

4. There is appropriated from the General Fund $1 million to the Department of Human Services to fulfill the provisions of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).

5. This act shall take effect on the first day of the fourth month next following the date of enactment, except that the commissioner may take any anticipatory administrative action in advance thereof as shall be necessary for the implementation of this act.

STATEMENT

This bill establishes the Firefighter Critical Mental Health Assistance Grant Program.

Due to the nature of firefighting, with its associated risks, danger, and stress, firefighters face a high probability of developing post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental illnesses. Firefighters commonly feel that disclosure of mental illness will result in negative professional consequences up to and including job loss, creating a culture in which firefighters often do not divulge mental health struggles and do not seek appropriate and necessary treatment. Family members of firefighters often face unique stressors related to their loved ones’ employment and may have an elevated need for mental health services.

To address these concerns, the bill establishes the Firefighter Critical Mental Health Assistance Grant Program in the Department of Human Services. The purpose of the program is to award grants to mental health providers to provide confidential mental health services to firefighters and members of their immediate families who are in a mental health crisis or suicidal.

Under the bill, the Commissioner of Human Services is required to develop an application by which a mental health services provider may apply for a grant for funding to provide mental health services pursuant to the provisions of the bill. The commissioner is required to establish selection criteria for the awarding of grants under the program. The bill provides that consideration is to be given, to the greatest extent possible, to the geographical location of mental health providers and the areas where they provide services in order to facilitate patients traveling less than one hour to receive mental health services.

Under the bill, the commissioner is to provide notice of the availability of funding for this program and make the application available on the department's Internet website. Upon receipt of an application, the commissioner is required to review the application and, subject to the availability of funds, award a grant to each approved grant applicant. Additionally, under the bill, the commissioner is required to publish a list of approved mental health providers on the department’s Internet website.