N.J. Admin. Code § 10:37-5.65

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 19, October 7, 2024

Section 10:37-5.65 - Scope and purpose

(a) C & E shall include preventive activities such as:

1. Social action;

2. Community organization and class advocacy services, as well as;

3. Community education;

4. Information and referral;

5. Consultation; and

6. Evaluation of C & E programs. Emphasis shall be on improving community awareness and receptivity, in order to offer target populations greater self-determination and a better quality of life.

(b) The Program Element shall focus on the following goals:

1. To promote the mental health and reduce the incidence of mental illness in a Service Area, paying particular attention to the target population's needs.

2. To initiate social action to change conditions in the community that restrict opportunities or pose obstacles for target populations as noted in 10:37-5.2 and other vulnerable segments of the population.

3. To inform individuals, agencies, and organizations about the appropriate role of mental health services within the larger human services system. To educate the community about natural support systems which can be tapped to alleviate problems, without entering the specialized mental health system and thereby:

i. Reduce the number of inappropriate referrals to mental health agencies and psychiatric hospitals; and

ii. Encourage gatekeeper use of generic services and community-based alternatives to hospitalization (for example: educating boarding and/or nursing home operators about the Service Area's 24-hour emergency/crisis-intervention service).

4. To increase community awareness of the mental health needs of the target populations and of the community-at-large through mental health education.

5. To actively involve broad community participation, at the local level, to organize and coordinate existing community resources and to develop new ones.

6. To maximize the community's capability to exercise control over the development of its own resources and the establishment of supportive environments, through advocacy, which are conducive to mental health.

N.J. Admin. Code § 10:37-5.65