Bipartisan Group of Senators Releases “Bipartisan Safer Communities Act” Gun Bill Text
June 23, 2022
A bipartisan group of Senators released on Tuesday the text of a
bill to combat gun violence, the "Bipartisan
Safer Communities Act". The legislation would include
state funding to implement "red flag" laws and enhanced
background checks.
The Senate voted in favor of...
Temporary CADC Certification and Emergency Licensure Graduate Programs Are in Force Indefinitely
June 21, 2022
NJAMHAA received confirmation from the Governor's Counsel that
Executive Order (EO) 292 issued in April 2022, which
extended all Administrative Orders, Directives and Waivers listed
in the
Appendix to EO 281, supersedes the expiration dates
specified in statute (P....
NJ Senate Advances Legislation to Support Upcoming 988 Rollout
June 20, 2022
As laid out in the
National Suicide Hotline Designation Act of 2020, a
new number will be available for people experiencing mental
health crises to call or text, scheduled to be rolled out
nationwide by July 16th. The new number, 988, is
expected to be easier to remem...
Expansion of ANCHOR Property Tax Program would Provide $2 Billion in Property Tax Relief
June 16, 2022
On June 15, 2022, Governor Phil Murphy, Senate President Nicholas
Scutari, and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin announced the
expansion of the Affordable New Jersey Communities for Homeowners
and Renters (ANCHOR) program. This expansion includes increased
investment from ...
Federal Bill Aims to Address Gun Violence, Includes Funding for Mental Health Care & School Security
June 14, 2022
"A bipartisan group of senators announced Sunday that it had
reached a tentative agreement on legislation that would pair
modest new gun restrictions with significant new mental health
and school security investments - a deal that could put Congress
on a path to enacting...
House Passes ‘Red Flag’ Gun Bill with Presidential Support; Bill Now Moves to the Senate
June 13, 2022
Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R.2377, the
Federal Extreme Risk Protection Order of 2022, that would allow
families, police, and others to ask federal courts to order the
removal of firearms from people at extreme risk of harming
themselves or othe...
DDD Shares Update on Enhanced Funding for Day Services Reconciliation
June 9, 2022
On October 1, 2021, rates for Day Services (i.e., Career
Planning, Community Inclusion Services, Day Habilitation,
Prevocational Training - Group and Individual, and Supported
Employment - Group and Individual) were increased due to one-time
funding appropriated to the Di...
Experts Warn against Conflating Mental Illness and Violence
June 7, 2022
In response to recent mass shootings, including that
which took place in Uvalde, Texas at Robb Elementary
School that claimed the lives of 19 students and two
teachers and wounded 17 other people, communities in New
...
HHS Extends Deadline to Use ARP Funds for Expanding and Enhancing HCBS for Medicaid
June 6, 2022
Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS),
through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS),
announced a one-year extension to the time that states will have
to use American Rescue Plan (ARP) funding to enhance, expand, and
strengthen home-...
White House Releases Fact Sheet on Strategy to Address National Mental Health Crisis
June 2, 2022
Yesterday, on the final day of Mental Health Awareness Month, the
White House released a
fact sheet highlighting the Biden-Harris
Administration's strategy to address the national mental health
crisis. The statement noted that the U.S. is facing an
unprecedented mental...
SAMHSA Shares Resources Including on School Shootings and Gun Violence
June 1, 2022
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
(SAMHSA) has shared a variety of resources for SAMHSA Region II
in the wake of the tragedies of Buffalo, NY; Uvalde TX; and the
211 prior mass shootings so far this year.
Support resources following recent sc...
Bipartisan Group of Senate Finance Committee Leaders Propose Plan to Expand Mental Telehealthcare
On Thursday, a bipartisan group of Senate Finance Committee
Leaders prosed a plan for expanding telehealth access for mental
health services.
The committee's plan would eliminate Medicare's in-person visit
requirement prior to patients seeking online mental health
services. This requi...
New Jersey Recorded More than 4,300 Drug, Alcohol, and Suicide Deaths in 2020
Yesterday, Trust for America's Health released a
report that found that alcohol, drugs, and suicide
accounted for 186,763 deaths across the U.S. in 2020.
In New Jersey, there were 826 alcohol-induced deaths and 2,921
drug-related deaths in 2020. These numbers represent increases of
2...
Shootings, Tragic Deaths and Lasting Trauma Underscore Need for Strong Laws and Increased Access
Shootings, Tragic Deaths and Lasting Trauma Underscore
Need for Strong Laws and Increased Access to Services
- Statement from Debra L. Wentz, PhD, President and
CEO
The New Jersey Association of Mental Health and Addiction
Agencies, Inc. (NJAMHAA) is devastated to hear about the hor...
Tragic Deaths and Lasting Trauma Underscore Need for Strong Laws and Increased Access to Services
May 25, 2022
Statement from Debra L. Wentz, PhD, President and
CEO
The New Jersey Association of Mental Health and Addiction
Agencies, Inc. (NJAMHAA) is devastated to hear about the horrific
loss of 19 students and two teachers, and serious injuries to
several more children and ad...
