NJ A1536

Requires psychiatric facilities, outpatient mental health providers, and crisis hotlines to employ suicide prevention counselors who must assess patients' suicide risk and provide individualized counseling to at-risk patients during all hours of operation

Mandates county governing bodies appoint suicide prevention response coordinators to deploy counselors alongside law enforcement responding to emergencies involving potentially suicidal individuals, with 911 call-takers trained to identify such calls

Requires all county and municipal law enforcement officers to complete at least two hours of annual in-service training on appropriate, non-violent de-escalation techniques when responding to emergencies involving suicidal persons

Establishes care transition protocols requiring psychiatric facilities and outpatient providers to use "warm hand-offs," "rapid referrals," and "supportive contacts" when discharging or transferring at-risk patients, prohibiting discharge into homelessness or unnecessary arrest

Requires health insurance carriers to cover suicide risk assessments and prevention counseling services, and imposes civil penalties of $500-$2,500 on staff who violate patient care standards or $2,500-$5,000 on facilities that fail to comply with the act