S2141

An Act establishing a New Jersey Center for the Study and Prevention of Suicide and supplementing Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.

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

1. a. There is established a New Jersey Center for the Study and Prevention of Suicide, hereinafter referred to as the center, at the Rutgers School of Public Health. The purpose of the center shall be to research the causes of and prevention and reduction measures for suicide.

b. The center shall conduct research and derive scientific evidence on which sound suicide prevention policies and programs may be based. The center’s research shall include, but need not be limited to, the following:

(1) the nature of suicide, including individual and societal determinants of suicide;

(2) the individual, community, and societal consequences of suicide; and

(3) treatment for suicidal thoughts at the individual, community, and societal levels.

c. The center shall work on a continuing basis with State policymakers to identify, implement, and evaluate innovative suicide prevention policies and programs.

d. To help ensure a successful, long-term effort to understand and prevent suicides, the center shall recruit and provide specialized training opportunities for new researchers who have recently completed college degrees.

e. As a supplement to its own research, the center may administer a small grant program for research on suicide. Research funds under the grant program shall be awarded on the basis of merit as determined by an open, competitive peer review process that assures objectivity, consistency, and high quality.

2. State departments and agencies including, but not limited to, the Department of Health, the Department of Law and Public Safety, the New Jersey State Police, and the Department of Human Services shall provide to the center, upon request, data necessary for the center to conduct research.

3. One year following the establishment of the New Jersey Center for the Study and Prevention of Suicide, and every five years thereafter, the Rutgers School of Public Health shall submit a report to the Governor, and to the Legislature pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), regarding the work of the center. The report shall include, but not be limited to, information on the center’s current research projects, the amount and sources of funding utilized, and the future direction of the center’s research. If the center administers a grant program for suicide research, the report also shall include information on the grants made, pending grants, and accomplishments of the program.

4. The center and any recipients of grants awarded by the center shall provide copies of their research publications to the Governor, to the Legislature pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), and to any State departments or agencies that supplied data used in connection with that research, as soon as practicable following publication.

5. a. The Legislature shall annually appropriate such monies as are necessary to fund the activities and research of the New Jersey Center for the Study and Prevention of Suicide.

b. The center may solicit and accept any grants, gifts, donations, or other funds from public or private sources, which may be available for research related to suicide.

6. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill establishes the New Jersey Center for the Study and Prevention of Suicide at the Rutgers School of Public Health (center).

Under the bill, the purpose of the center is to research the causes of and prevention and reduction measures for suicide. The center is to conduct research and derive scientific evidence on which sound suicide prevention policies and programs may be based. The center’s research is to include, but need not be limited to, the following: (1) the nature of suicide, including individual and societal determinants of suicide; (2) the individual, community, and societal consequences of suicide; and (3) treatment for suicidal thoughts at the individual, community, and societal levels.

Under the bill, the center is to work on a continuing basis with State policymakers to identify, implement, and evaluate innovative suicide prevention policies and programs. To help ensure a successful, long-term effort to understand and prevent suicides, the center is to recruit and provide specialized training opportunities for new researchers who have recently completed college degrees. As a supplement to its own research, the center may administer a small grant program for research on suicide. Research funds under the grant program are to be awarded on the basis of merit as determined by an open, competitive peer review process that assures objectivity, consistency, and high quality.

The bill provides that, one year following the establishment of the center, the Rutgers School of Public Health is to submit a report to the Governor and Legislature regarding the work of the center. The report is to include, but not be limited to, information on the center’s current research projects, the amount and sources of funding utilized, and the future direction of the center’s research. If the center administers a grant program for suicide research, the report is to also include information on the grants made, pending grants, and accomplishments of the program.

Under the bill, the Legislature is to annually appropriate such monies as are necessary to fund the activities and research of the center. The center may solicit and accept any grants, gifts, donations, or other funds from public or private sources, which may be available for research related to suicide.