Sponsored by:
Assemblyman ROY FREIMAN
District 16 (Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex and Somerset)
Assemblywoman TENNILLE R. MCCOY
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
SYNOPSIS
Creates online job portal for behavioral health care workers and online internship and externship portal for health care students.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning health care and supplementing Title 26 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. The Department of Health shall create, maintain, and update, as appropriate, an online job portal, in the form of an Internet website, which permits in-State employers to post job openings for behavioral health care workers.
As used in this subsection, “behavioral health care” means health care and associated services provided to a patient for the treatment of a mental illness, emotional disorder, or substance use disorder.
b. The Department of Health shall create, maintain, and update, as appropriate, an online internship and externship portal, in the form of an Internet website, which permits in-State employers to post internship and externship openings that are eligible to provide academic credits for students who are studying to become a health care professional licensed or certified under Title 45 of the Revised Statutes, to provide credits toward licensure or certification, or to provide credits toward completion of a health care professional training program.
c. If necessary, the Department of Health may contract with a third-party entity to develop and administer the online behavioral health job portal, the online internship and externship portal, or both online portals.
2. The Commissioner of Health shall adopt 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 effectuate the provisions of this act.
3. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill creates an online job portal for behavioral health care workers and online internship and externship portal for students enrolled in both physical and behavioral health care training programs.
Under the bill, the Department of Health (department) is to create, maintain, and update an online job portal that permits in-State employers to post job openings for behavioral health care workers. The bill defines “behavioral health care” to mean health care and associated services for the treatment of a mental illness, emotional disorder, or substance use disorder.
In addition, the department will be required to create, maintain, and update an online internship and externship portal that permits in-State employers to post internship and externship openings providing academic credits for students studying to become a health care professional.
The department will be authorized to contract with a third-party entity to develop and administer the online behavioral health job portal, the online internship and externship portal, or both.