Official Site of The State of New Jersey

Congregate settings—including long-term care facilities, veterans’ homes, correctional institutions, and group homes for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities—were among the most significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. New Jersey has aimed to enhance care quality, expand emergency response teams, upgrade facility infrastructure, and strengthen cross-agency coordination. The State remains focused on building safer, more resilient systems to protect residents and staff during future crises.

State-regulated Long-Term Care Facilities (LTCF)

• New Jersey convened the Task Force on Long-Term Care Quality and Safety to capture critical lessons from the COVID‑19 crisis. The Task Force identified 146 recommendations to expand home- and community-based services, reform nursing facilities, sustain and grow the long-term care workforce, and more.
• The Department of Health (NJDOH) created the Office of Long-Term Care Resiliency to coordinate emergency support and ensure timely communication with LTCFs. Enhanced alerts, new financial reporting rules, and on-site infection control teams have strengthened oversight and accountability.
• NJDOH and the Department of Human Services (NJDHS) expanded Mission Critical Teams to deliver on-site support to struggling nursing homes. Established in 2022, these teams are composed of experts in long-term care administration, nursing, social work, and infection prevention in conjunction with support from the Communicable Disease Service’s Infection Control Assessment & Response (ICAR) Unit and are deployed to stabilize facilities at risk of operational or financial distress. After a successful pilot in 2022, the State increased funding in 2023 and 2025. Teams have supported over a dozen facilities to stabilize operations and improve care.
• NJDOH continues to leverage the Infection Control Assessment & Response (ICAR) Unit to provide on-site infection prevention and control expertise to healthcare facilities. ICAR site visits are focused on bolstering infection prevention and quality improvement capacity or containing an outbreak.  Infection Preventionist, nurses, and epidemiologist work with healthcare facilities to identify gaps in their infection prevention practices and improve their readiness to prevent and manage infections, including emerging threats. By conducting structured assessments, ICAR supports facilities in strengthening their protocols, reducing healthcare-associated infections, and enhancing overall patient and healthcare personnel safety and public health outcomes.
• NJDOH continues to monitor disease activity, conduct infectious disease surveillance, and respond to outbreaks in long-term care settings. Communicable Disease Service subject matter experts have conducted a series of continuous education and training webinars focused on communicable disease and outbreak response in long-term care facilities. These webinars emphasize best practices, changes and/or updates to guidance, as well as effective strategies for addressing both individual cases of communicable diseases and outbreaks within these facilities.
• NJDOH continues to provide COVID-19 test kits to LTCFs that are in outbreak status.
• The Murphy Administration has increased funding to nursing facilities by over $1 billion since Fiscal Year 2018.
• NJDHS has implemented updates to the Quality Incentive Payment Program in Fiscal Year 2025, enhanced cost reporting, and raised rates for facilities to convert to single-bed occupancy.
• The Long-Term Care Ombudsman’s community engagement efforts include a Social Isolation Program and startup support for nursing home Resident Councils.
• To enhance home- and community-based (HCBS) alternatives, Medicaid has invested in HCBS, respite services, and Jersey Assistance for Community Caregiving. NJDOH launched Jobs that Care, a website to fill direct care roles, and recently finalized the New Jersey Direct Care Workforce Strategic Plan.

State-run Veteran’s Homes

• A State-commissioned review, completed in January 2025, examined the factors that contributed to severe COVID-19 outbreaks in veterans’ homes. The official report recommended restructuring the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMAVA) to improve accountability.
• Governor Murphy enacted legislation in September 2025 to establish the Department of Veterans Affairs. It will exclusively focus on veteran-related matters, such as delivering housing, health care, mental health services, and benefits for veterans and their families. Military functions will continue at the current department, which will be renamed the Department of Military Affairs in early 2026. 
• DMAVA established strong interagency partnerships with NJDOH's Office of Long-Term Care Resiliency, ICAR, and Mission Critical teams to enhance coordination and resource sharing during public health crises.
• The use of the New Jersey National Guard has been formally incorporated into DMAVA’s revised Outbreak Response Plan. This plan was developed in partnership with the NJDOH Office of Long-Term Care Resiliency and provides detailed operational guidance for deploying Guard personnel in veterans’ homes during public health emergencies. This planning builds on the Guard’s prior deployments to LTCFs during COVID-19 surges, such as in 2022.
• The NJDOH ICAR Unit conducts routine site visits to enhance infection prevention and control processes at the three DMAVA nursing homes. Since 2022, the ICAR Unit has completed visits across these locations, strengthening infection prevention measures for residents.
• NJDOH continues to provide COVID-19 test kits to Veteran’s homes that are in outbreak status.
• DMAVA completed a full review of its personnel designations and clarified the essential status of medical and frontline workers. As part of this effort, job titles were formally updated and all staff designated as essential have been educated on their roles and expectations during emergency operations. DMAVA established a structured career ladder within the veterans’ homes system, in accordance with Civil Service guidelines. These pathways offer promotional opportunities for staff based on licensure and scope of practice. 
• To improve staffing and retention, DMAVA implemented salary increases and title changes to better align with private-sector benchmarks. New job titles were added to enhance recruitment efforts, and through federal VA grants, DMAVA introduced bonuses, tuition assistance, and staff appreciation events as additional support. These actions are showing results: in 2025, the Department reported that two of its veterans’ homes received 5-star ratings and clinical deficiency-free surveys, reflecting rising care standards.

State-level Correctional Facilities

• The Department of Corrections (NJDOC)’s Health Compliance Unit (HCU) has worked to build regular collaboration with NJDOH to support more coordinated planning and quicker dissemination of public health information within DOC leadership and operations teams.
• NJDOC supports emergency coordination through its Special Operations Group, which works with local communities and state agencies to ensure aligned, multi-level responses to any public safety hazard.
• To support emergency readiness and day-to-day operations, NJDOC secured funding to improve its IT infrastructure. This includes upgrading outdated systems and expanding access to technology across facilities. NJDOC also partnered with a vendor to introduce tools that provide incarcerated persons with improved access to education, communication, and support services.
• DOC considers its infirmary capacity and the potential of community hospital partnerships in planning for future health emergencies.
• NJDOH continues to provide COVID-19 test kits to correctional facilities that are in outbreak status.

State-run Group Homes for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

• NJDHS continues to prioritize health and safety planning in state-run and community-based settings for individuals with IDD, preparing for all hazards including infectious diseases. 
• NJDHS during the Murphy Administration has made significant investments in wage increases to direct caregivers in community settings to attract and retain quality staff. The Murphy Administration has increased funding to the Division of Developmental Disabilities’ community programs by over $1.1 billion since Fiscal Year 2018.
• NJDHS promotes constant and open communication to provide appropriate guidance, planning, and response for hazards that address the unique needs of the IDD population.
• The State continues to promote Register Ready to increase communication with individuals and families with disabilities in emergency situations.
• The Murphy Administration launched the Disability Information Hub for New Jersey residents with disabilities, caregivers, parents, and advocates to connect with State resources.
• NJDOH continues to provide COVID-19 test kits to state owned and operated developmental disabilities facilities that are in outbreak status.

• Continue implementing key recommendations from related reviews and task forces.
• Continue implementing Medicaid reforms like presumptive eligibility for HCBS and coverage for palliative care.
• Further strengthen financial transparency and accountability of industries and vendors.
• Expand workforce enhancements and pipelines for congregate care settings.
• Deploy technical assistance as needed from ICAR and Mission Critical teams.