Bill Text: NJ S1379 | 2018-2019 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires training of certain staff and health care professionals in interacting with individuals with developmental disabilities.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-02-01 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee [S1379 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2018-S1379-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator JEFF VAN DREW
District 1 (Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland)
SYNOPSIS
Requires training of certain staff and health care professionals in interacting with individuals with developmental disabilities.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning training of certain staff and health care professionals and supplementing Titles 30 and 45 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. No later than six months after the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), the Commissioner of Human Services or the commissioner's designee, in consultation with a professional and occupational licensing board within the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety, the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety, and the Department of Health, which regulates the practice of a health care professional as defined in section 3 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), shall develop a curriculum to train health care professionals in providing treatment to an individual with a developmental disability. The curriculum shall, at a minimum, include an overview of developmental disabilities and ways to improve interactions with individuals with developmental disabilities in order to achieve better health care outcomes for these individuals.
2. The Director of the Division of Developmental Disabilities shall ensure that staff working directly with individuals with developmental disabilities who reside in community residences for the developmentally disabled, as defined in section 2 of P.L.1977, c.448 (C.30:11B-2), receive training to improve their interactions with individuals with developmental disabilities residing in these residences. Staff employed on the effective date of P.L. , c. (C.) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall complete the training within four months of the effective date of P.L. , c. (C.) (pending before the Legislature as this bill). Staff employed after the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall complete the training within four months of their date of employment.
3. As used in sections 3 and 4 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill):
"Board" means a professional and occupational licensing board within the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety.
"Director" means the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety.
"Health care professional" means a health care professional who is licensed or otherwise authorized, pursuant to Title 45 or Title 52 of the Revised Statutes, to practice a health care profession that is regulated by one of the following boards or by the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs: the State Board of Medical Examiners, the New Jersey Board of Nursing, the New Jersey State Board of Dentistry, the New Jersey State Board of Optometrists, the New Jersey State Board of Pharmacy, the State Board of Chiropractic Examiners, the State Board of Physical Therapy, the State Board of Respiratory Care, the Orthotics and Prosthetics Board of Examiners, the State Board of Examiners of Ophthalmic Dispensers and Ophthalmic Technicians, the Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Advisory Committee, the Occupational Therapy Advisory Council, or the State Board of Polysomnography. "Health care professional" also includes a nurse aide, personal care assistant, emergency medical technician or mobile intensive care paramedic, who is certified by the Department of Health.
4. a. A board, director, or the Department of Health, as applicable, shall ensure that a health care professional who is regulated by the board, director, or department receives training developed pursuant to section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
b. A health care professional who is licensed or certified, as applicable, on the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), shall complete the training within nine months of the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
c. A health care professional who is licensed or certified, as applicable, after the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), shall complete the training within nine months of the health care professional's licensure or certification.
5. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill requires the Commissioner of Human Services or the commissioner's designee, in consultation with a professional and occupational licensing board within the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety, the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety, and the Department of Health, which regulates the practice of certain health care professionals, to develop a curriculum to train these professionals in providing treatment to an individual with a developmental disability. The curriculum is to include, at a minimum, an overview of developmental disabilities and ways to improve interactions with individuals with developmental disabilities in order to achieve better health care outcomes for these individuals.
"Health care professional" is defined in the bill to include professionals regulated by the State Board of Medical Examiners, the New Jersey Board of Nursing, the New Jersey State Board of Dentistry, the New Jersey State Board of Optometrists, the New Jersey State Board of Pharmacy, the State Board of Chiropractic Examiners, the State Board of Physical Therapy, the State Board of Respiratory Care, the Orthotics and Prosthetics Board of Examiners, the State Board of Examiners of Ophthalmic Dispensers and Ophthalmic Technicians, the Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Advisory Committee, the Occupational Therapy Advisory Council, or the State Board of Polysomnography. The term also includes a nurse aide, personal care assistant, emergency medical technician or mobile intensive care paramedic, who is certified by the Department of Health.
A professional and occupational licensing board or the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs who regulates the practice of a health care professional, and the Department of Health, are to ensure that health care professionals receive the training. In the case of a health care professional who is licensed or certified on the effective date of the bill, the training is to be completed within nine months of the effective date of the bill. If licensed or certified after the effective date, training is to be completed within nine months of licensure or certification.
Additionally, the bill provides for staff who work directly with individuals with developmental disabilities residing in community residences for the developmentally disabled to receive training to improve their interactions with the individuals residing in these community residences. Current staff would be trained within four months of the effective date of the bill, and staff employed after the effective date would be trained within four months of their date of employment.
