A 1606 New Jersey General Assembly · 2026-2027 Regular Session

Establishes two-year pilot program for certain mental health care facilities to treat additional juvenile patients.

This bill establishes a two-year pilot program allowing select mental health facilities to treat juvenile patients (ages 14-17) in vacant adult treatment beds. To participate, facilities must employ juvenile psychiatrists, have staff trained for youth, offer age-appropriate programs, and be licensed for both adult and juvenile care. During the pilot, facilities may place juveniles in vacant adult beds when clinically appropriate and move adults to voluntary beds when feasible. The program ends after a report evaluates its impact on care quality for both adult and juvenile patients.
Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Jan 13, 2026 Last action Jan 13, 2026
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Jan 13, 2026
Introduced
Introduced, Referred to Assembly Aging and Human Services Committee
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Sean Kean
Sean Kean
RRepublican
NJ
30