Legislative and Advocacy Round-up for February 2023

Legislative and Advocacy Round-up

To inform brain injury advocates about

grassroots advocacy and public policy

February 2023

Upcoming Events

March 2
April 1
May 6
June 3
July 8
August 5
September 9
October 7
November 4
December 2

Brain Injury Resource Center

Whether you have a brain injury or concussion, are a caregiver or a professional, the Brain Injury Alliance of New Jersey has resources available for you. If you’re in need of further assistance, please contact the Helpline at 1-800-669-4323, or [email protected].

Visit the Resource Library

Brain Injury Support Groups

Brain injury support groups allow people with brain injuries and their family members to meet others in similar situations. They gain valuable emotional support, form friendships, obtain information, and discuss a variety of brain injury topics.

Find a Support Group

CARES Program

The BIANJ CARES (Care, Assistance, Resources, Education and Support) Program supports individuals and families impacted by brain injury through care management. This program focuses on assessing current needs and developing a plan to help individuals achieve greatest potential and improve quality of life.

More about CARES

Support Coordination

The Alliance is an approved Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) /Medicaid-approved Support Coordination agency. Support Coordinators provide care management services to adults 21 + who are eligible for DDD services. Individuals and their families are assisted in identifying services and developing individualized plans based on a person’s needs.

Voices Advancing the Brain Injury Community Raises Awareness of Brain Injury

The chair of the Voices Advancing the Brain Injury Community (Voices), Richard Anderson, recently spoke at his church and raised awareness of brain injury.

You may view his speech by clicking HERE.

Voices champions and publicizes the advocacy, rights, and needs of people who have sustained a brain injury, and their families. By joining the Voices Advancing the Brain Injury Community you can:

Make your voice heard
Define your elected officials and their contact information
Discuss your views on brain injury public policies
Stay updated on brain injury bills and legislature
Learn more about the legislative process
Become a stronger brain injury advocate

To learn more, contact us directly at 732-745-0200 or [email protected]. You may also register at https://www.bianj.org/advocacy/

Join the United States Brain Injury Alliance as an Advocate Member

The United States Brain Injury Alliance (USBIA) invites those with an interest in brain injury to join the Alliance as Advocate Members!

Persons with brain injury, family members, caregivers, and medical professionals are all encouraged to join USBIA and be a part of a nation-wide community of advocates seeking to prevent brain injury and improve lives!

There is no cost to joining USBIA as an Advocate Member!

USBIA is dedicated to affecting positive change through education, collaboration, advocacy, and outreach. By joining USBIA as an Advocate Member, you will be uniting with others around the country in a common mission to prevent brain injury and improve lives.

Click HERE to fill out the form to join USBIA as an Advocate Member.

New Jersey Age-Friendly Advisory Council, New Jersey Department of Human Services to Hold Virtual listening sessions

On Tuesday, March 14^th, at 10am, and Tuesday, March 21^st, at 5pm, the New Jersey Age-Friendly Advisory Council and the New Jersey Department of Human Services will be holding two virtual listening sessions to hear from New Jersey residents about how to make the state a better place for all ages. Governor Murphy has tasked the department to create a blueprint that outlines the best practices to make New Jersey more age-friendly, and getting input from the people for whom this matters most is an important part of this process.

Registration for speaking at the event, which will be held on Zoom, can be done by doing so HERE. Testimony is limited to three minutes. People who are unable to speak at the meeting can send a written testimony HERE. The listening sessions will be streamed HERE.

If you have any questions about the listening sessions, feel free to email [email protected] or call (800) 792-8820 for assistance.

Thank You!

The Brain Injury Alliance of New Jersey supports a broad range of legislation that relates to brain injury. We appreciate those members of the State Legislature or the United States Congress who support bills by registering as a cosponsor of or introducing legislation. We would like to publicly thank the following member(s) for sponsoring the following bills:

In the State Legislature

S2013 - Allows gross income tax deduction for charitable contributions to certain New Jersey-based charitable organizations.

Senators Patrick Diegnan and Holly Schepisi

A468 - Requires State agencies to make their websites accessible to people with disabilities and on mobile devices.

Assemblywoman Angela McKnight

A2944 - Creates Task Force on Driver Distractions.

Assemblywoman Carol Murphy

Legislation that Advanced

Legislation listed below has advanced in the New Jersey State Legislature. Please contact Tom Grady, Director of Advocacy and Public Affairs if you would like more information about these bills at [email protected] and/or whether you would like to contact your elected representatives to express your views on these bills.

In the State Legislature

S2789 – Requires certain permit holders to complete practice driving hours to obtain probationary driver’s license.
A468 – Requires State agencies to make their websites accessible to people with disabilities and on mobile devices.
A4049 – Provides for presumptive eligibility for home and community-based services under Medicaid.
A4746 – Requires availability of accessible mail-in ballot for voters with disabilities.
A5232 - Revises “Paratransit Services Improvement Act”; transfers $6 million from NJT to DHS.

Have you been injured by a drunk or distracted driver?

The United States Brain Injury Alliance will be working towards national efforts to learn from and serve survivors of drunk and distracted drivers who have sustained a brain injury.

To this end, they have issued a survey to help them learn more about the populations that we serve and represent.

To take the survey, click HERE. Your answers could help inform future program and service development.