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A4837
ASSEMBLY, No. 4837
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
INTRODUCED MAY 4, 2026
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman� JERRY WALKER
District 31 (Hudson)
SYNOPSIS
���� Establishes �New Jersey Community Health Worker
Program� in DOH and certain training programs for community health workers.��
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� As introduced.
��
An Act
establishing the New Jersey Community Health
Worker Program and supplementing Title 26 of the Revised Statutes.
����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.��� a.� There is established
in the Department of Health the New Jersey Community Health Worker Program.�
The program shall establish standardized community health worker training and
certification programs within institutions of higher education, and shall integrate
community health worker services into State Medicaid reimbursement programs for
the purposes of improving health outcomes, reducing health care costs, and
reducing inequities in the availability and provision of health care services.
���� b.��� The Commissioner of
Health shall appoint a director of the New Jersey Community Health Worker
Program, who shall, in consultation with the New Jersey Community Health Worker
Program Advisory Board established pursuant to section 2 of this act, be
responsible for overseeing and administering all aspects of the program.� The
commissioner shall make available to the director such staff and resources as
may be necessary for the purposes of implementing the program.
���� c.���� The director shall
establish the New Jersey Community Health Worker Program in Newark no later
than one year after the effective date of this act.� Thereafter, the director
may establish and implement the program in such additional municipalities as
the director determines necessary and appropriate. The director may take into
consideration the availability of departmental resources, the need for
community health worker services, and the need for community health worker
training and certification programs in a given region, county, or
municipality.� The director shall seek to establish the program Statewide no
later than five years after the effective date of this act.
���� d.��� The director shall be
authorized to accept funding as may be made available from the federal
government, the State, and the private sector to effectuate the purposes of
this act.
���� e.���� No later than one year
after the effective date of this act, and annually thereafter, the director
shall report to the Legislature, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164
(C.52:14-19.1), on the implementation of the provisions of this act, including
recommendations for such legislative action as may be appropriate and necessary
to facilitate the establishment, implementation, expansion, and improvement of
the New Jersey Community Health Worker Program.
���� f.���� As used in this act,
�community health worker� means a professional who is certified to connect
health care consumers with health care providers and resources, with the goal
of facilitating access to health care in medically underserved communities and
educating health care providers about the unique obstacles faced by members of
that community when seeking access to health care.� To the extent possible,
community health workers shall serve in the communities in which they live.
���� 2.��� a.� There is established
in the Department of Health the New Jersey Community Health Worker Program
Advisory Board, which shall assist the Director of the New Jersey Community
Health Worker Program to develop training and certification programs, identify
medically underserved communities and the unique challenges facing those
communities in obtaining access to health care, and develop strategies for
effectively implementing the New Jersey Community Health Worker Program
Statewide.
���� b.��� The board shall comprise
nine members, to be appointed as follows:
���� (1)�� the Commissioners of
Health and of Human Services, or their designees, who shall serve ex officio;
and
���� (2)�� seven public members, of
which three shall be appointed by the Governor, and one each shall be appointed
by the Senate President, the Senate Minority Leader, the Speaker of the General
Assembly, and the Assembly Minority Leader.� The public members shall include:
���� (a)�� three representatives
from community health centers, with one each from the southern, central, and
northern regions of the State;
���� (b)�� one representative from
a general hospital;
���� (c)�� one representative from
a long-term care facility;
���� (d)�� one representative from
a two-year institution of higher education; and
���� (e)�� one representative from
a four-year institution of higher education.
���� c.���� The public members
shall serve for a term of five years, except that, of the seven public members
first appointed, the first two members appointed shall serve for a term of
three years, the second two members appointed shall serve for a term of four
years, and the next three members appointed shall serve for a term of five
years.� A public member is eligible to be reappointed to the board.� A member
appointed to fill a vacancy occurring in the membership of the board for any
reason other than the expiration of the term shall have a term of appointment
for the unexpired term only.� All vacancies shall be filled in the same manner
as the original appointment.
���� d.��� The board shall organize
as soon as practicable following the appointment of its members, and the
members shall select a chairperson and vice chairperson from among themselves.�
The chairperson shall appoint a secretary who need not be a member of the board.
���� e.���� Members of the board
shall serve without compensation, but shall be reimbursed for necessary
expenses incurred in the performance of their duties.
���� f.���� The board shall meet at
least twice per calendar year, and at such other times as the chairperson shall
designate.
���� g.��� The Department of Health
shall provide staff services and other necessary support to the board.� The
board may also request the assistance and services of the employees of any
State, county, or municipal department, board, bureau, commission, task force,
or agency as it may require and as may be available to it for its purposes.
���� 3.� a.� The Director of the
New Jersey Community Health Worker Program appointed pursuant to section 1 of
this act, in consultation with the New Jersey Community Health Worker Program
Advisory Board established pursuant to section 2 of this act, shall develop a
standardized health curriculum for training community health workers in the
provision of education and supports services to individuals in need of
substance use disorder treatment.� The curriculum shall include basic
educational information and materials concerning factors and behaviors related
to substance use disorder treatment, including, but not limited to, substance
use disorder treatment for pregnant and postpartum individuals.
���� b.� The director may, in
developing the curriculum, utilize information or resources developed by
another state, a professional association with expertise in substance use
disorder treatment, or an agency of the federal government.
���� c.� The director shall promote
and share the curriculum as best practices for community health workers in the
State in order to increase accesses to information concerning substance use
disorder treatment.
���� 4.��� The Commissioner of
Human Services shall apply for such State plan amendments or waivers as may be
necessary to implement the provisions of this act and to secure federal
financial participation for State Medicaid expenditures under the federal
Medicaid program.
���� 5.��� The Commissioner of
Health, in accordance with the provisions of the "Administrative Procedure
Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), shall promulgate such rules
and regulations as are necessary to effectuate the purposes of this act.
���� 6.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.
STATEMENT
���� This bill establishes the New
Jersey Community Health Worker Program in the Department of Health.� Community
health workers are certified professionals who connect health care consumers
with health care providers and resources, with the goal of facilitating access
to health care in medically underserved communities and educating health care
providers about the unique obstacles faced by members of that community when
seeking access to health care.
���� The purpose of the New Jersey
Community Health Worker Program will be to establish standardized community
health worker training and certification programs within institutions of higher
education, and integrate community health worker services into State Medicaid
reimbursement programs for the purposes of improving health outcomes, reducing
health care costs, and reducing inequities in the availability and provision of
health care services.
���� The Commissioner of Health
will be required to appoint a director for the program, who will be responsible
for overseeing and administering all aspects of the program in consultation
with the New Jersey Community Health Worker Program Advisory Board, which will
also be established under the bill.� The bill requires the program to be
established and implemented in Newark within one year following enactment, and
thereafter expanded to such additional municipalities as the director
determines necessary and appropriate in light of available resources and the
need for the program in a given region, county, or municipality.� The director
will be required to seek to implement the program Statewide within five years
after the date of enactment.� The director will be authorized to accept funding
as may be made available from the federal government, the State, and the
private sector to implement the program.
���� The director will be required
to report annually to the Legislature on the implementation of the program,
including recommendations for such legislative action as may be appropriate and
necessary to facilitate the establishment, implementation, expansion, and
improvement of the program.
���� The bill additionally
establishes the New Jersey Community Health Worker Program Advisory Board to
assist the director to develop training and certification programs, identify
medically underserved communities and the unique challenges facing those communities
in obtaining access to health care, and develop strategies for effectively
implementing the program Statewide.
���� The board will comprise nine
members, including the Commissioners of Health and of Human Services, or their
designees, who will serve ex officio, and seven public members, of which three
will be appointed by the Governor, and one each will be appointed by the Senate
President, the Senate Minority Leader, the Speaker of the General Assembly, and
the Assembly Minority Leader.� The public members will include three
representatives from community health centers, with one each from the southern,
central, and northern regions of the State; one representative from a general
hospital; one representative from a long-term care facility; one representative
from a two-year institution of higher education; and one representative from a
four-year institution of higher education.
���� The bill requires the director
to develop a standardized health curriculum for training community health
workers in the provision of education and supports services related to substance
use disorder treatment.� The director may, in developing the curriculum,
utilize information or resources developed by another state, a professional
association with expertise in substance use disorder treatment, or an agency of
the federal government.� The director will promote and share the curriculum as
best practices for community health workers in the State.