New Jersey-2022-A5702-Introduced

An Act concerning a violence prevention and response plan, supplementing chapter 37 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes, and making an appropriation.

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

1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Safe Schools and Communities Violence Prevention and Response Plan Act of 2023."

2. Each county superintendent of schools shall employ a violence prevention specialist. It shall be the duty of the violence prevention specialist to develop a safe schools and communities violence prevention and response plan in collaboration with, as applicable, local community mental health providers, school administrators, teachers, school resource officers, school safety specialists, guidance counselors, child study teams, and parents. The plan shall include the creation of a prevention and early intervention team to be comprised of the violence prevention specialist and three or four mental health specialists assigned by the Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services in the Department of Human Services from local mental health providers. The team shall work with the county superintendent of schools and individual school districts to develop the plan and to provide training and technical assistance.

3. The safe schools and communities violence prevention and response plan shall enable school districts to:

a. identify at-risk students and support the students with on-site mental health services;

b. provide outreach beyond the school through a collaborative case management model with community mental health providers and school personnel that offers comprehensive linkages to coordinated and community-wide systems, including families, community agencies, law enforcement, and the courts;

c. expand and support integrated, preventive mental health services that are child and family centered, accessible, culturally sensitive, responsive to local needs, flexible and results-oriented through an organized system of screening, assessment, support, treatment and follow-up at school or through referral to another agency; and

d. advance and promote coordinated systems of care that provide a full continuum of services to enhance mental health development and learning in children through technical assistance and consultation; training and education; discussion of critical issues; crisis prevention; intervention and management; and building of long-term capacity to support integrated prevention and early intervention efforts among schools, families, mental health agencies and the greater community.

4. Statewide guidelines, training materials, consultation and technical assistance for the safe schools and communities violence prevention and response plan shall be developed and updated annually for school districts and violence prevention specialists by a qualified mental health organization with a Statewide presence and expertise in mental health treatment, training advocacy, and creating public awareness.

5. The State Board of Education, in consultation with the Commissioner of Health, shall promulgate rules pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.) as necessary to effectuate the provisions of this act.

6. There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Education the sum of $10,000,000 for the purpose of implementing the provisions of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).

7. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill establishes the "Safe Schools and Communities Violence Prevention and Response Plan Act of 2023." Under the bill, each county superintendent of schools is to employ a violence prevention specialist. The violence prevention specialist is required to develop a safe schools and communities prevention and response plan in collaboration with, as applicable, local community mental health providers, school administrators, teachers, school resource officers, school safety specialists, guidance counselors, child study teams, and parents. The plan is to include the creation of a prevention and early intervention team, which will be comprised of the violence prevention specialist and three or four mental health specialists assigned by the Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services in the Department of Human Services from local mental health providers. The team is required to work with the county superintendent of schools and individual school districts to develop the plan and to provide training and technical assistance.

Statewide guidelines, training materials, consultation and technical assistance for the safe schools and communities violence prevention and response plan are to be developed and updated annually for school districts and violence prevention specialists by a qualified mental health organization with a Statewide presence and expertise in mental health treatment, training advocacy, and creating public awareness.