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NEWARK
– Attorney General Anne Milgram and
Acting Consumer Affairs Director Larry DeMarzo
today announced that the Division has begun
implementing an action plan to improve the
services provided by the 42 licensing boards.
The plan is based on the results of an internal
review conducted this summer.
The
licensing boards, which regulate and oversee
more than 500,000 individuals working in
80-plus professions ranging from plumbers
to physicians, are fully funded by licensure
fees and fines that each board collects.
The plan announced today will utilize those
resources to enhance the services to both
licensees and consumers, expand the use
of modern technology and make smarter use
of personnel.
“We
have started an institutional overhaul that
will produce tangible improvements for the
customers, patients and consumers who rely
on these professionals, at no expense to
taxpayers,” Attorney General Milgram
said. “Through an internal review,
we took a hard look at the way we do business
and identified how we can work better and
more efficiently for both our licensees
and the public.”
One
specific goal is the reduction in the amount
of time it takes applicants to obtain a
license. Of equal importance, the plan is
designed to speed the handling of complaints
filed against licensees, she said.
“We’ve
already revamped the Board of Medical Examiners
and reduced the time required to review
a filed complaint from approximately 400
to 100 days,” Attorney General Milgram
noted. “We are committed to achieving
similar results at all of our licensing
boards.”
The licensing boards have already recently
installed a new telephone system, as part
of efforts to better process and respond
to inquiries and complaints from consumers.
A systematic redesign of the each board’s
web site is underway. Consumers looking
to read disciplinary actions taken against
licensees by the Board of Medical Examiners
can view scanned documents on its web site.
As part of the website redesign program,
disciplinary actions taken by the other
boards will be available for review on individual
board web sites. In addition, a new web-based
verification system providing real-time
updates on licensee status and disciplinary
actions will be launched.
Plans are underway to provide for improved
computers for all Board staff. Moreover,
the network infrastructure has been upgraded.
Once fully installed, it will enable the
network to work 10 times faster than at
present. Paperless technologies will be
provided to Board members to facilitate
their reviews and save money on postage
and handling.
“We’re
taking a giant step forward, one that frankly
has been overdue,” Acting Director
DeMarzo said. “Our licensees deserve
boards that better respond to their needs
and, as regulators, we will be better able
to serve and protect consumers by overhauling
the operation of our licensing boards.”
The
review process included interviews with
the Executive Directors who oversee the
operation of each licensing board, board
staff members, Deputy Attorneys General
who provide legal guidance to each board,
Deputy Attorneys General who handle disciplinary
actions, and the Chief of the Division’s
Enforcement Bureau whose staff investigates
complaints.
With
this input, the Division has been able to
identify many measures that will have the
immediate effect of improving the functioning
of these agencies. In addition, the review
process has highlighted the need to assess
personnel needs to assure optimal staffing.
The Division will also be considering how
the management structure can best oversee
board operations. Stepped-up recruiting
and training of board members is also vital
to the mission. A summary of the reforms
already initiated and the next steps appears
below.
While
the cost of the overall program has not
yet been determined, the Division and the
boards are committed to fulfilling this
mission by assuring that licensure fees
will provide the public with the services
to which it is entitled.
Nearly
3,700 consumer complaints were received
by the boards in 2006. The disciplinary
actions taken by the boards include 211
license revocations or voluntary surrenders
and 132 license suspensions. In 2006, the
Division’s boards received nearly
130,000 telephone calls from licensees and
the general public. More than 41,000 pieces
of mail were received and processed. With
the improvement plan announced today, we
expect the Division and its 42 licensing
boards to be an even more valuable resource
for the licensees and consumers.
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Action
Plan for the Improvement of New Jersey Professional
Licensing Boards
The Attorney General’s
plan has several overarching goals:
- to
improve the responsiveness of the licensing
Boards
- to
increase efficiencies of operations, and
- to
enhance communications with the public.
Action
Steps Already Initiated:
- New
consumer-friendly telephone system has
been installed, that will provide more
effective service.
- Boards’
websites are being reconfigured and updated
to become more informative and user-friendly.
-
The planned introduction of a new online
resource will provide up-to-the minute,
expanded information relating to licensees,
including public disciplinary actions.
-
Along with a network infrastructure upgrade,
new computers have been sought for the
Board staff, and final approval of this
purchase is expected shortly.
-
A paperless agenda system will be introduced
to those Boards whose work is the most
paper-intensive, to achieve efficiencies
in mailing and document management.
- Individual
Boards have been asked to develop complaint
screening mechanisms, tailored to the
volume and type of complaints they typically
receive. This will ensure the most expeditious
evaluation of consumer complaints.
Next
Steps:
- A
thorough analysis of current staffing
and how the Division can optimize its
personnel to meet its needs will be undertaken.
-
Enhanced customer service training, and
the revitalization of a Consumer Service
Center will ensure that the public –
both licensees and consumers -- will be
able to obtain information and guidance
in a direct and timely fashion.
- Staff
will develop a comprehensive, ongoing,
training program to ensure that the technology
already available is put to its highest
and best use by the boards.
-
To facilitate the evaluation of complaints
and pursuit of enforcement actions, outreach
to potential experts will be made.
-
A comprehensive new Board member orientation
program will be developed to supplement
the introductory meetings that are presently
being held.
-
The development of a new position of “consumer
liaison specialist” will be pursued
to provide consumers who have filed complaints
with the latest information as to the
status of a Board’s review.
-
The development of a specialized enforcement
unit to monitor compliance with continuing
education mandates will be created.
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