New Jersey Administrative Code
Title 10 - HUMAN SERVICES
Chapter 37 - COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES ACT
Subchapter 6 - GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL STATE-FUNDED COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH PROGRAM ELEMENTS
Section 10:37-6.42 - Scope and purpose

1. Service/Treatment planning should begin at the time of a client's entry into any mental Program Element, except Emergency Services.

2. Service/Treatment planning shall continue through discharge from one Program Element and/or referral to another Program Element. Reassessment of client needs and the appropriateness of the ISP shall be made at regular intervals, as specified by JCAH standards for community mental health services.

3. Emphasis should be on a client's strengths and interests, so that abilities can be built into the ISP and utilized to alleviate problems and to enhance the client's feeling of self-worth.

4. A provider agency shall adopt such policies and practices as are necessary to provide appropriate informational materials concerning advance directives for mental health care to all interested consumers and their families and mental health care representatives, and to assist consumers interested in discussing and executing an advance directive for mental health care.

5. Before formulating any ISP, staff shall consult with the client and with the DMHS Registry to establish whether the client has executed an advance directive for mental health care. Any directive of which the provider agency becomes aware shall be considered in formulating the ISP. At the time the ISP is developed, and at any time the ISP is reviewed or modified, the client shall be counseled about the opportunity to execute or modify any such directive, based on the current need for care and treatment preferences of the client. Disputes about the implementation of an advance directive shall be subject to the process provided in accordance with the requirements of 10:37-4.6.

6. Comprehensive ISPs shall consider key areas of life support need: living arrangements, education, vocational services, financial assistance, legal services, companionship, and medical care, as well as clinical treatment.

1. Once completed, the ISP shall serve as a monitoring device, to insure that needed and appropriate services are being delivered in a timely manner.

2. The documentation provided by the ISP shall provide a logical record against which client progress can be reviewed.

3. The ISP shall become the basis for Service Procurement and advocacy services for each client, as defined in the Division's Service Dictionary.

4. The ISP should identify Program Element responsibilities for service provision, linkages which must be made with other agencies, the time periods in which service should be rendered, and desired results.

5. The ISP shall become the vehicle for clarifying the relationship between the client's problems and the specific services planned to help those problems.

6. The updated ISP should be used to evaluate service's impact on a client's life satisfaction and daily function during treatment.