For Immediate Release

The Human Services Equity Coalition Calls on the NJ Legislature to Pass A508/S2668

The Human Services Equity Coalition calls on the New Jersey Legislature to pass bill A508/ S2668 into law outside of this year’s budget process. This bill is critical to ensuring that community-based disability and behavioral health services that hundreds of thousands of New Jerseyans rely upon would remain sustainable in the face of rising inflationary costs. A508/S2668 establishes an annual increase to the Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) and the Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS) state fee-for-service and Medicaid rates and contracts, which would allow providers to absorb increasing costs from one year to the next.

This common-sense bill has solid bipartisan sponsorship across the State Legislature. It would not force the State to provide an annual cost-of-living adjustment automatically, but it would mean the budget process would start with one in the proposal.

Our system of community social services programs is under immense duress:
– 31.4% of frontline clinical staff positions are vacant at community mental health clinics.
– 63% of intellectual and developmental disability providers are discontinuing programs and services.
– Transportation costs have risen 11% year over year nationally.

The current uncertainty of year-to-year funding leaves providers unable to plan for the future, often leading to service cuts for program participants.

The Human Services Equity Coalition (HUSEC) is a group of leading disability, mental health, and substance abuse treatment organizations across New Jersey working to sustain community services.