Healthcare

This bill expands the Child Advocacy Center-Multidisciplinary Team Advisory Board's role to implement an annual progress review program for New Jersey's child advocacy centers and teams, ensuring they meet national accreditation standards. It also creates a new "Problematic Sexual Behavior Program" to support youth under 18 exhibiting developmentally inappropriate sexual behaviors (including tech-related issues like sexting), with $8.5 million in funding. The program will use specialized care coordinators to connect affected youth and families with medical, mental health, and community resources. It directly affects child advocacy centers, multidisciplinary teams, and youth/families experiencing these behavioral challenges. The bill amends existing law to establish these requirements and funding mechanisms.

This bill requires New Jersey's State Long-Term Care Ombudsman to add specific memory care training to their annual long-term care training program within one year. The training must cover the needs and rights of residents with Alzheimer's disease and related disorders, including methods to address their unique challenges. If the ombudsman's program does not include this training by the deadline, they must report to the legislature explaining the delay and steps to implement it. The bill directly affects the ombudsman's program, long-term care facility staff, and residents with memory-related conditions.