Bill > A2622

Introduced Session

This bill, which is designated the "Prenatally and Postnatally Diagnosed Conditions Awareness Act in New Jersey," concerns the provision of supportive services to new or expecting parents who have received positive results of prenatal or postnatal testing for Down syndrome and other prenatally and postnatally diagnosed conditions.The supportive services include, but are not be limited to:· the establishment of a telephone hotline to provide information about available resources and services to a new or expecting parent receiving a positive result of a test for Down syndrome or other prenatally or postnatally diagnosed conditions;· current information, posted on the official website of the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS), about available resources and services to a new or expecting parent receiving positive results of a test for Down syndrome or other prenatally or postnatally diagnosed conditions;· the expansion and development, as appropriate, of local peer support programs that effectively serve a woman who receives a prenatal, positive diagnosis for Down syndrome or other prenatal conditions, or a parent of an infant with a postnatally diagnosed condition;· the expansion and development, as appropriate, of networks of providers who provide a new or expecting parent with up-to-date information on the range of outcomes for individuals living with the diagnosed condition, including physical, developmental, educational, and psychosocial outcomes; and· the establishment of an awareness and education program, which includes current evidence-based information relating to Down syndrome and other prenatally and postnatally diagnosed conditions, for health care professionals or their designees who provide the results of prenatal or postnatal testing for Down syndrome and other prenatally and postnatally diagnosed conditions to a new or expecting parent. Under the provisions of the bill, the Commissioner of Health and Senior Services shall authorize and oversee activities including, but not limited to:· the awarding of grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to collect and synthesize information relating to Down syndrome and other prenatally or postnatally diagnosed conditions and the testing for these conditions, and to disseminate this information to providers of supportive services and health care professionals treating a new or expecting parent receiving a positive result of a test for Down syndrome or other prenatally or postnatally diagnosed conditions; and· coordinating the provision of and access to the supportive services. In awarding any grants or contracts or entering into any agreements, the commissioner is required to give priority to partnerships between health care groups and organizations that advocate for persons with a disability. The bill also provides that upon receipt of a positive result of a test for Down syndrome or other prenatally or postnatally diagnosed conditions, the health care professional, or his designee, must provide a new or expecting parent with:· up-to-date, evidence-based, written information concerning the range of outcomes for individuals living with the diagnosed condition, including physical, developmental, educational, and psychosocial outcomes; · a referral to a provider of supportive services;· contact information about peer support programs;· information about registries of families willing to adopt newborns with Down syndrome or other prenatally or postnatally diagnosed conditions, and about links to adoption agencies willing to place babies with Down syndrome or other prenatally or postnatally diagnosed conditions with families willing to adopt, established pursuant to the federal "Prenatally and Postnatally Diagnosed Conditions Awareness Act," Pub.L.110-374; and· information about the telephone hotline and website established under the bill. Under the bill, the commissioner is required to: coordinate the implementation of the bill with the federal "Prenatally and Postnatally Diagnosed Conditions Awareness Act," Pub.L.110-374; and seek federal funds for the purposes of the bill, but there shall be no State funds appropriated to the department in Fiscal Year 2009 for the purposes of the bill. The bill provides for rule making by the commissioner and has a delayed effective date of 180 days following enactment.

AI Summary

Committee Categories

John DiMaio (R)*,  Aura Dunn (R)*,  Jay Webber (R)*,  Vicky Flynn (R),  Erik Peterson (R), 

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Community Development and Women's Affairs Committee (on 01/09/2024)

Official Document