Hudson County Adjuster’s Office

OPRA REQUESTS

OPRA requests can be submitted via the Hudson County Portal. For specific OPRA related questions, please contact the main Law Department number 201-795-6250.

The primary objective of the County Adjuster is to carry out the duties outlined in New Jersey Statute 30:4-34.

These duties include having charge and supervision of the preparation of documents relating to the admission and commitment of those persons having mental illness within the County, and in some cases other Counties. The County Adjuster is responsible for the scheduling of court hearings for anyone committed to a Federal, State, County, Private, or Special Psychiatric Hospital. Unless a client has private counsel, an attorney is assigned to represent the client at the hearing. These hearings, by law, must be held within 20 days of confinement for an adult and 14 days of confinement for an adolescent. Until the clients are discharged, they are afforded a review of their admission status on a regular basis.

Each county is responsible for covering the cost of care for its residents. The County Adjuster, acting as referee of the court, investigates the residency and settlement of the patient and their ability to pay for their stay in state and county psychiatric hospitals. From those investigations, the County Adjuster sends the reports and findings to the Superior Court. The Superior Court then issues an Order, which indicates if the County, State and/or patient is financially responsible.

The County Adjuster also assists various Police Departments in completing mental health record searches as part of the gun permit applications and purchasing process. All related forms should be sent via email only, to HCAdjuster@HCNJ.us.

ALL RECORDS ARE CONFIDENTIAL AND ARE THEREFORE NOT AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC

Due to confidentiality and HIPAA federal and state regulations, any requests that require disclosure of patient information must be sent to the Adjuster’s Office in writing, via email, to HCAdjuster@HCNJ.us or regular mail and must accompany a proper record request form. The Adjuster’s Office can only accept encrypted email requests which contain a patient’s name or other personal information. All responses by the County potentially revealing Protected Health Information will only be made via encrypted email or delivered in person to the patient themselves with proper photo identification.

FORMS

• SP-066 Consent for Mental Health Record Search
• New Jersey HIPPA Release Form

For more information please visit the New Jersey Department of Human Services