New Jersey Administrative Code
Title 10 - HUMAN SERVICES
Chapter 37I - FAMILY SUPPORT SERVICES
Subchapter 1 - GENERAL PROVISIONS
Section 10:37I-1.3 - Definitions

The following words and terms, when used in this chapter, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

"Adult" means any individual 18 years of age or older and those who are transitioning into adult systems of care.

"Advocacy" means staff activities that, in cooperation with families, help the community and other professionals understand and respond to the needs of families with a mentally ill member (for example, technical assistance to other service providers or community organizations; supporting family members to participate and influence mental health policy formation, assertiveness training for family members on how to present themselves to professionals); or staff activities on behalf of a specific family (for example, meeting with employers to encourage flexible work schedules or emergency leaves).

"Commissioner" means the Commissioner of the Department of Human Services.

"Department" means the Department of Human Services.

"Division" means the Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services in the Department of Human Services.

"Engagement" means the process of establishing a collaborative relationship with a family built on caring and trust whereby the IFSS program establishes its value to the family by addressing its immediate needs, conveying a sense of hope and "being there" for the family in times of need.

"Family" means persons related to the family member with a serious mental illness by blood, marriage, adoption, guardianship, foster care or other significant care giving relationship.

"Family concern" means the objective and subjective experience of families coping with the acute and long-term responsibilities associated with community care and treatment. Family concerns may include disrupted family life, worry, stigma and sense of loss, as well as tangible costs in savings spent, time lost, and social isolation.

"Family concerns survey" means a valid and reliable instrument that measures objective and subjective pressures that a family experiences in caring for their member with a serious mental illness.

"Family satisfaction with services" means a measurement of a family's experience with a particular PA as to the quality, impact, accessibility and relevance of IFSS.

"Family support group" means a time-limited or ongoing group in which families meet together to provide mutual support, information and opportunity to interact with other families having similar concerns and to help ease the isolation and stigmatization that many families feel.

"Family support services" means a coordinated system of on-going public and private support services which are designed to maintain and enhance the quality of life of a family.

"Family unit" means the family member with a serious mental illness and his or her family.

"Intensive family support services (IFSS)" means a range of family-driven supportive activities designed to improve the overall functioning and quality of life of families with a relative with a serious mental illness.

"Level of family concern" means the results achieved through administration of the Family Concerns Survey.

"NAMI New Jersey" is the name of a New Jersey Statewide self-help and advocacy organization dedicated to improving the lives of people with serious mental illnesses and their families.

"NAMI New Jersey Family-to-Family Education Program" means an education program given by families of people with serious mental illness for families of people with serious mental illness.

"Program" means the program of family support services established pursuant to this chapter.

"Provider agency (PA)" means a public or private organization which has a contract with the Division to provide intensive family support services, and which meets the requirements contained in N.J.A.C. 10:37.

"Psychoeducation group" means a multi-family group, which meets the standard delineated at 10:37I-5.6(b), and which meets on a regularly scheduled, time-limited basis for the purpose of providing families with a greater knowledge of mental illness, treatment options and skills useful in managing the illness within the family and supporting the recovery process. The psychoeducation group may include the family member with a serious mental illness.

"Referral/service linkage" means staff activities which provide individualized help or guidance to families in procuring needed mental health and non-mental health services or assistance (for example, applications for entitlements, referral to counseling, linkage with home health aide or visiting nurse associations).

"Respite" means non-emergency services designed to allow an individual family planned time away from their member with a serious mental illness.

"Serious mental illness" means a diagnosable mental disorder which is sufficiently severe and enduring to cause periodic or lasting functional impairment in one or more life areas, often recurrent contact with the mental health system, or a significant risk of hospitalization in a State, county or private psychiatric institution.

"Single family consultation" means staff activities related to providing information to and consultation with an individual family on an "as needed" basis in order to enhance the overall functioning of the family with a member who has a serious mental illness.

"Statewide family advocacy organization" means an organization consisting primarily of family members of people with a serious mental illness that is dedicated to improving the lives of persons with serious mental illness and their families through mutual support, education and advocacy.