a. Publicly financed mental health, behavioral health, and addiction services are critical to the health, safety, and well-being of the people of New Jersey, and comprise an integral and essential component of the State‘s health and safety network in which the taxpayers invest significant resources and public funds.

b. The COVID-19 pandemic and the economic devastation resulting from its outbreak has, and will continue to cause, increased demand for the public provision of these services. Periods of economic shock, insecurity, social isolation, and pandemics increase demand for and reliance on these essential services funded or administered by the State.

c. The Legislature intends to ensure the uninterrupted delivery of essential mental health, behavioral health, and addiction services to its most vulnerable citizens and to ensure such services are delivered efficiently. The State has a proprietary interest in ensuring efficiency and quality in the delivery of these services through licensed community-based organizations and providers, with which the State contracts through the Department of Human Services and the Department of Children and Families. The State’s proprietary interest in these services includes ensuring their uninterrupted delivery by contracted providers licensed by the State.

d. The COVID-19 pandemic forces recognition of the significant health and safety risks undertaken by the individuals who provide these essential health services to the public on behalf of the State. The State has a responsibility to ensure the resources it provides to community-based organizations and providers with which it contracts support the safety of the employees and recipients of these services.

e. In administering its mental health, behavioral health, and addiction services public health program, it is in the State’s interest to ensure the individuals who are employed to deliver the services are entitled to raise concerns, issues, and problems, and have full exercise of their liberty of speech and conscience without fear of reprisal or retaliation.

f. The aforementioned interests are best accomplished by requiring all contracts renewed or entered into after the effective date of this act between providers and the State, acting through the Department of Human Services’ Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services and Department of Children and Families for the provision and delivery of behavioral health, mental health, and addiction services to require:

(1) adoption and adherence to a policy sufficient to ensure service providers and service recipients are protected from infection and the spread of COVID-19; and

(2) certification of a commitment to ensure the uninterrupted delivery of services caused by labor-management disputes.

L.2021, c.1, s.1.