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S 4851

Expands which individuals qualify to be an individual's personal assistant for the purposes of consumer directed personal assistance programs

2025 Regular Session Introduced by James Skoufis

Expands who can qualify as a personal assistant under CDPAP, increasing options for recipients and prompting updates to training, oversight, and program rules.

REFERRED TO HEALTH
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WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · S 4851

Summary of Bill S 4851 (New Jersey)

Overview

  • Bill number: S 4851
  • Title: Expands which individuals qualify to be an individual's personal assistant for the purposes of consumer directed personal assistance programs
  • Sponsor: James Skoufis (primary)
  • Status: Referred to Health (with prior actions noted in legislative history)
  • Introduced: November 10, 2025
  • Related bills: S 3530 (prior-session), A 1408 (companion), S 8284 (prior-session)

Purpose and intent

  • The bill is described by its title as aiming to broaden the pool of individuals who may qualify to serve as an individual’s personal assistant within consumer directed personal assistance programs. These programs typically allow recipients to hire and direct their own home-based care services, giving recipients more control over who provides assistance.

What the introduced version text covers

  • The material labeled as the “Introduced Version” in the provided content appears to address an unrelated topic (local library cooperatives and contracting definitions under P.L.1971, c.198). It includes definitions for contracting units, bidding thresholds, and various service categories, but it does not contain language about consumer directed personal assistance programs or personal assistants.
  • Because of this mismatch, the specific provisions, eligibility criteria, training requirements, reimbursement mechanisms, or protections related to expanding qualifying individuals for personal assistance are not present in the provided text.

Legislative actions and timeline

  • February 13, 2025: Referred to Health (listed twice in the provided history)
  • November 10, 2025: Introduced in the Senate and referred to the Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee
  • The discrepancy between the February 2025 Health referral and the November 2025 reference to Health/Community and Urban Affairs suggests reformulating or updating the bill’s committee assignments in the record.

Potential impact (based on the bill’s stated purpose)

  • Beneficiaries: Individuals who rely on consumer directed personal assistance programs could have more options for who can provide care if more persons qualify as personal assistants.
  • Providers and training: Expanding qualifications may require updates to training standards, background checks, and oversight to ensure quality and safety.
  • Program administration: State program administrators (Medicaid/CDPAP programs) would need to adjust policies, eligibility requirements, and reimbursement processes.
  • Fiscal and operational considerations: Depending on who is added as eligible personal assistants, the cost and utilization patterns of CDPAP could change.

Important caveat

  • The text labeled as the Introduced Version does not align with the bill’s stated purpose. For an accurate, provision-by-provision summary of S 4851’s actual CDPAP-related changes, the correct introduced legislative text or a reliable summary of the bill’s CDPAP provisions is required. If you can provide the intended CDPAP language or a link to the official bill, I can produce a precise, detailed summary.

Next steps

  • Please share the authentic introduced text for S 4851 (CDPAP provisions) or a link to the bill’s official page.
  • I can then deliver a detailed, section-by-section summary of the substantive changes, affected parties, timelines, and fiscal implications.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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