Codey Bill to Require Discrimination Training for Services Provided to LGBTQ+ Senior Citizens Advances

Trenton – In an effort to ensure all New Jersey senior citizens are being treated fairly, the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee today approved legislation sponsored by Senator Richard Codey which would require discrimination prevention training for certain providers of senior citizen services.

The bill, S-3552, would require the Commissioner of Human Services, or their designee, to develop a training program that is designed to prevent and eliminate discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression in the delivery of services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, and intersex senior citizens in the State.

“LGBTQ+ individuals are prone to facing discrimination every day, and one in five transgender adults reporting having been turned away by a health care provider simply due to their gender identity,” said Senator Codey (D-Essex/Morris). “Senior citizens who identify as transgender are particularly vulnerable in senior care settings, with them being more likely to experience hostility and mistreatment from staff. Everyone deserves the right to be treated fairly and equally, especially when seeking out care and health services, and my goal with this bill is to eliminate discrimination as a whole for our senior LGBTQ+ community.”

Under the bill, the training process would be designed to increase awareness and provide cultural competency to service providers and their employees about the issues encountered by senior citizens within the LGBTQ+ community to both better ensuring they are receiving equal access to services and to improve the delivery of those services.

The bill was released from the committee by a vote of 7-0.