S3175

An Act concerning the development and oversight of reunification therapy services and supplementing various parts of the statutory law.

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

1. The Legislature finds and declares that:

a. Children are sometimes estranged from their parents for a variety of reasons, including parental divorce and subsequent custodial conflict, substance abuse, criminal activity in the home, incarceration of a parent, or a history of abuse by a parent.

b. These cases may require involvement of the New Jersey Department of Children and Families as well as family courts.

c. When appropriate, a court may order reunification of a child with an estranged parent and recommend the use of therapy services by a licensed mental health professional.

d. Similarly, if a child is referred into the Children’s System of Care in the Department of Children and Families, a licensed mental health professional in the children’s system of care may begin reunification therapy.

e. Due to the complexity of the therapeutic intervention, mental health professionals must possess specific training and experience to appropriately provide reunification therapy.

f. Even when a licensed therapist holds training in family reunification, the therapist may not possess all the necessary verified knowledge, skills, and experience to provide therapy services, identifying when reunification would be in the best interest of the child and when it is not, causing significant harm and additional trauma to the child.

g. Safe and successful reunification therapy requires that the providing therapist practice in a manner that is mindful of the specific nuances and complexities that necessitated the separation of a parent and a child.

h. A lack of appropriate training and certification programs providing instruction for reunification therapy creates an unacceptable risk of a negative impact on the mental health and welfare of children and families overall.

2. As used in this act:

“Department” means the Department of Children and Families.

“Reunification therapy” means a form of therapy to rebuild or reestablish a connection between a parent and child after a distinct period of separation caused by various circumstances, including, but not limited to, incarceration; addiction and subsequent treatment; physical, sexual, or emotional abuse; or as a result of a divorce.

“State-licensed mental health professional” means a professional who meets the prerequisites required to provide reunification therapy services and is licensed by the requisite board in New Jersey in one of the following specialties: alcohol and drug counseling; applied behavior analysis; creative arts and activities therapy; marriage and family therapy; medicine with a board certification as a psychiatrist; professional counseling; psychoanalysis; psychology; or social work.

3. a. The Department of Children and Families shall accept applications for the development of education and training in reunification therapy services, as further delineated in section 4 of this act. The applicant subsequently approved by the department to develop and provide the education and training shall be from one of the following:

(1) a teaching hospital or health system that includes a children’s hospital licensed by the New Jersey Department of Health;

(2) a freestanding psychiatric hospital licensed by the New Jersey Department of Health with pediatric acute psychiatric beds; or

(3) a residential facility licensed by the New Jersey Department of Children and Families.

b. The approved applicant shall have the capacity to develop research-backed reunification therapy curriculum and a training program for advanced clinical training in reunification therapy services for State-licensed mental health professionals.

c. The application to be submitted to the department shall include information and any accompanying documentation as determined by the department.

4. a. The reunification therapy curriculum and training program to be developed by the approved applicant pursuant to section 3 of this act shall consist of the following:

(1) the development of a standardized training curriculum for family reunification therapy;

(a) the applicable boards overseeing the State-licensed mental health professionals shall approve the curriculum, in addition to the department;

(b) once completed and approved, the curriculum shall remain as the property of the State of New Jersey and may be used to establish additional training programs in the State if the program is connected to a regional diagnostic treatment center; and

(2) the development of a training program for a State-licensed mental health professional to attend, using best practices in family therapy and reunification therapy.

b. The development shall include using information and advice collected from existing medical literature and internal and external subject matter experts, including regional diagnostic treatment centers, the New Jersey Psychological Association, judges currently presiding in the State over family courts; the requisite professional boards licensing the various mental health professionals; and family reunification advocates.

c. The program shall include a period of supervised training and practice for an individual to gain experience as a reunification therapy clinician.

5. Only a State-licensed mental health professional who has completed the training program developed pursuant to section 4 of this act shall provide reunification therapy services, including the reunification services mandated or recommended as part of an order issued by a court in the State.

6. a. The applicant approved by the department pursuant to section 3 of this act shall collect data, at a frequency as determined by the department, which demonstrates the success and failure rates of reunification using reunification therapy services, which shall include a review of the success rate of State-licensed mental health professionals, and any other clinical benchmarks in relation to reunification therapy services, as determined by the department.

b. The data collected by the applicant shall be made publicly available on the department’s website.

7. There is appropriated from the General Fund to the department the sum of $3 million to effectuate the purposes of this act, with a possible additional sum of $2 million to cover costs incurred during the establishment of a training program pursuant to section 4 of this act. This includes costs incurred due to classroom space, administrative and teaching staff, and other related items.

8. a. Tuition and other fees may be charged by the facilitator of the training program in reunification therapy services.

b. Continuing education may be granted, as determined by the requisite board, to a State-licensed mental health professional upon completion of the training program in reunification therapy.

9. This act shall take effect on the first day of the 13th month next following the date of enactment except that the department may take any anticipatory administrative action in advance as shall be necessary to effectuate the purposes of this act.

STATEMENT

This bill requires the development of curriculum and training in reunification therapy services for mental health professionals licensed in the State. “Reunification therapy services” is defined as

a form of therapy to rebuild or reestablish a connection between a parent and child after a distinct period of separation caused by various circumstances, including, but not limited to, incarceration, addiction and subsequent treatment, or as a result of a divorce. The mental health professionals authorized in the bill to provide these services include, among other professionals, physicians with board certifications as psychiatrists, psychologists, and social workers.

The development and provision of education and training in reunification therapy services is to be provided by: (1) a teaching hospital or health system that includes a children’s hospital licensed by the New Jersey Department of Health; (2) a freestanding psychiatric hospital licensed by the New Jersey Department of Health with pediatric acute psychiatric beds; or (3) a residential facility licensed by the New Jersey Department of Children and Families. Parties who meet these qualifications are to apply to the Department of Children and Families, who will make the final decision on which applicant is approved to develop the curriculum and training in reunification therapy services. The approved applicant will receive an appropriation of $3 million, with a possible additional sum of $2 million, to assist in the development of the curriculum and training.

The bill delineates how the approved applicant is to develop the curriculum and training. In part, it includes consultation with the requisite mental health professional boards and judges presiding over family courts in New Jersey. Data is to be sent by the licensed mental health professionals who provide reunification therapy services to the Department of Children and Families to demonstrate the success rate, or lack thereof, in the use of reunification therapy services. The data is to be made publicly available.