ASSEMBLY, No. 4819

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

220th LEGISLATURE

 

INTRODUCED OCTOBER 20, 2022

 


 

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman  REGINALD W. ATKINS

District 20 (Union)

Assemblywoman  SHAVONDA E. SUMTER

District 35 (Bergen and Passaic)

Assemblywoman  ANGELA V. MCKNIGHT

District 31 (Hudson)

Assemblywoman  VERLINA REYNOLDS-JACKSON

District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)

 

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblywomen Jimenez, Tucker, Chaparro, Assemblymen Caputo, Karabinchak, Sampson, Schaer, Stanley, Assemblywoman Carter, Assemblyman Mejia, Assemblywoman Jaffer, Assemblyman Wimberly, Assemblywomen Haider, Timberlake, Speight, Assemblymen Spearman, Kennedy and Assemblywoman Jasey

 

 

 

 

SYNOPSIS

     Establishes Council for Community Recovery and Family Success; appropriates $772.6 million.

 

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

     As introduced.

  


An Act establishing the Council for Community Recovery and Family Success, supplementing Title 9 of the Revised Statutes, and making an appropriation.

 

     Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

 

     1.    The Legislature finds and declares that:

     a.     As a State, our child and family services and the resources appropriated to fund those services are primarily designed to respond to crisis-related events.  Consequently, the services provided to children and their families struggle to produce long-term positive results.

     b.    A growing body of literature suggests that comprehensive, integrated, and sustained investments in family support, prevention, early intervention, and infant, child, youth, and family well-being are more cost-effective than a fragmented approach of various programs providing services that only address the symptoms that cause family crises and distress.

     c.     The solution to improving outcomes for all children and families of New Jersey is to provide an interdisciplinary approach to family support and preventive services and to enact a Bill of Rights for Infants, Children, Youth, and Families in New Jersey.  This Bill of Rights, based on the United Nations Treaty on the Rights of the Child, would recognize and protect the rights of infants, children, youth, and families in New Jersey and provide a framework for the provision of preventive services to at-risk infants, children, and youth and their families.

     d.    It is therefore in the best interests of the State to invest in and implement programs that promote prevention, early intervention, and infant, child, youth, and family well-being in order to improve the outcomes for all infants, children, youth, and families who reside in New Jersey.

 

     2.    a.   There is established the Council for Community Recovery and Family Success in, but not of, the Department of Children and Families.  For the purpose of complying with the provisions of Article V, Section IV, paragraph 1 of the New Jersey Constitution, the Council for Community Recovery and Family Success is allocated within the Department of Children and Families, but, notwithstanding this allocation, the council shall be independent of any supervision or control by the department or by any officer or employee thereof.

     b.    The council shall consist of 25 members as follows:

     (1)   the Commissioners of Children and Families, Community Affairs, Corrections, Education, Health, Human Services, and Labor and Workforce Development, and the Executive Director of the Juvenile Justice Commission in the Department of Law and Public Safety, or their designees, who shall serve ex officio;

     (2)   13 public members appointed by the Governor, which members shall include a representative of the Advocates for Children of New Jersey, a representative of the Family Success Institute, a representative of Parents Inc. of New Jersey, a behavioral health representative, a representative of the Center for Family Services, a representative of the United Way of New Jersey, a representative of the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, a representative of a family success center, a representative of a faith-based organization, a community leader, and three parents or guardians whose children are receiving State-funded services; 

     (3)   two public members appointed by the Senate President, one of whom shall be a representative of municipal government, and one of whom shall be a representative of a Promise Neighborhood program; and

     (4)  two public members appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly, one of whom shall be a representative of county government, and one of whom shall be a community representative.

     c.     Vacancies in the membership of the council shall be filled in the same manner provided for the original appointments.  The members of the council shall serve without compensation but may be reimbursed for traveling and other miscellaneous expenses necessary to perform their duties, within the limits of funds made available to the council for this purpose.

     d.    The council shall organize as soon as practicable but no later than 60 days following the appointment of its members, and shall select a chairperson and vice-chairperson from among the members.  The chairperson shall appoint a secretary who need not be a member of the council.

     e.     The council may meet at the call of its chair and hold hearings at the times and in the places it deems appropriate and necessary to fulfill its charge.  The council shall be entitled to call to its assistance and avail itself of the services of the employees of any State, county, or municipal department, board, bureau, commission, or agency as it may require and as may be available to it for its purposes, and shall be entitled to call on the assistance of the Administrative Office of the Courts for information relevant to its purposes.

     f.     The council may seek the advice of experts, such as persons specializing in the field of social work, education, law, human services, economic development, workforce development, or other related fields, as deemed appropriate by the membership of the council.

     g.    The council shall annually prepare its administrative budget and work plan in conformance with its duties, and shall secure staff services from the departments of Children and Families, Community Affairs, Corrections, Education, Health, Human Services, and Labor and Workforce Development and the Juvenile Justice Commission, as well as from other council member organizations and from other contracted professional staffing and support services, as may be necessary for the council to carry out its duties under this act.

 

     3.    a.  The purpose of the council shall be to guide and oversee the development and implementation of a Statewide initiative focusing on the social and economic well-being of infants, children, youth, and families and the provision of holistic, age and developmentally appropriate services that support a child’s development from birth to young adulthood.  The initiative shall be based on the four pillars of family success:

     (1)   positive family relationships and community connections;

     (2)   safety and financial security;

     (3)   high quality education and quality learning environments; and

     (4)   good health and infant, child, youth, and family well-being.

     b.    (1)  In order to implement the Statewide initiative, the council shall:

     (a)   use the Bill of Rights for Infants, Children, Youth, and Families established pursuant to P.L.    , c.    (C.       ) (pending before the Legislature as Senate Bill No. 1726 or Assembly Bill No. 3323 of 2021-2022) to provide a framework for the initiative’s implementation;

     (b)   identify policies, procedures, practices, and financial priorities relating to preventive services for at-risk infants, children, youth, and families and the gaps in those policies, procedures, practices, and financial priorities, and develop strategies to promote the well-being of infants, children, youth, and families and encourage family success;

     (c)   review the programs, policies, and initiatives of the Departments of Children and Families, Community Affairs, Corrections, Education, Health, Human Services, Labor and Workforce Development, and Law and Public Safety, and any other departments of State government and any community-based organizations as may be appropriate, and make recommendations that will enable such departments and organizations to better coordinate and improve the effectiveness of the department’s or organization’s programs, policies, and initiatives;

     (d)   conduct ongoing, comprehensive cost-benefit analyses of the budgets of State departments and community-based organizations that provide services to at-risk infants, children, youth, and families, and State and local funding mechanisms for infant, child, youth, and family service systems, to identify and make recommendations on how to redirect resources and programmatic focus from distress services to preventive services for at-risk infants, children, youth, and families and for family success initiatives;

     (e)   explore strategies to maximize and effectively utilize all State, county, municipal, and federal funding sources, as well as any funds from business and philanthropic investments as may be available, for the purpose of providing supportive and preventive services to infants, children, youth, and families and to improve family success outcomes; and

     (f)   establish community recovery and family success councils in each county of the State, which councils shall:

     (i)    assess local infant, child, and youth demographics, including age, gender, race, socio-economic status, and ethnicity, as well as indicators of well-being;

     (ii)  collect and analyze information concerning the services and resources that are currently available, the cost and availability of services and programs, and the met and unmet needs of  infants, children, youth, and families in the county; and

     (iii)  develop methods that support innovative preventive services for at-risk infants, children, youth, and families and the development of local family success initiatives.

     (2)   The goal of the Statewide initiative shall be to:

     (a)   promote positive family relationships, community connections, and preventive services to ensure the financial security, quality education, good health, safety, permanency, and well-being of infants, children, youth, and families through an integrated service planning and delivery system of care;

     (b)   develop and recommend the adoption of community-informed family success outcomes, including specified performance-based outcome measures and objectives;

     (c)   identify obstacles that impede or prevent family success and develop strategies to successfully overcome such obstacles;

     (d)   explore the role of institutional racism and bias in the delivery of services to at-risk infants, children, youth, and families, and how racism and bias can impede or prevent family success;

     (e)   identify policies and practices that promote the delivery of preventive services to at-risk infants, children, youth, and families and encourage family success; and

     (f)   incorporate input from key stakeholders, including parents, family members, community members, and children receiving preventive services from the Departments of Children and Families, Community Affairs, Corrections, Education, Health, Human Services, Labor and Workforce Development, and Law and Public Safety, and any other department of State government or from a community-based organization, on the development of a plan to design, strengthen, and implement local family success initiatives.

     c.     Subject to the availability of funds, the council shall implement the Statewide initiative pursuant to this section over the course of the next three fiscal years.  The council shall establish criteria for the allocation of funds made available to the council, assigning priority based on both the total child population and percentage of child poverty in each eligible jurisdiction.  The initial funding of local family success councils shall be based on an assessment of need and county readiness.

     d.    All departments and agencies of the State and all community-based organizations that provide relevant distress or preventive services, maintain relevant data sets, or perform functions pertinent to relevant distress or prevention programs shall assist the council in its responsibilities pursuant to subsection b. of this section.

     e.     As used in this  section:

     “Distress services” means services intended to remediate circumstances, including, but not limited to, educational, social, and parental failures, and family crises, that endanger the safety, permanency, health, and well-being of infants, children, and youth.

     “Preventative services” means services that promote the safety, permanency, health, and well-being of infants, children, youth, and their families and divert the need for crisis-related services.

 

     4.    The council shall submit an annual report to the Governor and, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), to the Legislature, with the council’s recommendations for legislative and administrative actions regarding the use of federal, State, county, municipal, and business and philanthropic funds to support the development and implementation of innovative family success initiatives and preventive services for all infants, children, youth, and families in New Jersey.

 

     5.    The Council for Community Recovery and Family Success shall adopt, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), rules and regulations necessary to effectuate the purposes of this act.

 

     6.    There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Council for Community Recovery and Family Success the sum of $772,600,000 to implement the provisions this act.  Of this amount, the council shall expend no more than $71,400,000 in State Fiscal Year 2023, no more than $280,000,000 in State Fiscal Year 2024, and no more than $421,200,000 in State Fiscal Year 2025.  Unexpended amounts appropriated to the council pursuant to this section shall not be returned to the General Fund at the close of a fiscal year, and shall be retained by the council in the succeeding fiscal year for the purposes of implementing the provisions of this act.  The council shall be authorized to invest unexpended funds appropriated pursuant to this section, and to use dividends and interest earned on the amount invested for the purposes of implementing the provisions of this act.

 

7.  This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

 

     This bill establishes the Council for Community Recovery and Family Success in, but not of, the Department of Children and Families (DCF), which council will be tasked with developing strategies to promote the well-being of infants, children, youth, and families and encourage family success.  Notwithstanding its allocation within the DCF, the council will be independent of any supervision or control by the DCF or by any DCF officer or employee.

     The council will consist of 25 members, including the Commissioners of Children and Families, Community Affairs, Corrections, Education, Health, Human Services, and Labor and Workforce Development, and the Executive Director of the Juvenile Justice Commission in the Department of Law and Public Safety, or their designees, who will serve ex officio, and 17 public members, with the Governor appointing 13 of the public members and the Senate President and the Speaker of the General Assembly each appointing two of the public members.  The bill specifies that the public members represent certain entities that provide services to children and families or have certain experience with receiving family services in New Jersey.

     The members of the council will serve without compensation but may be reimbursed for traveling and other miscellaneous expenses necessary to perform their duties, within the limits of funds made available to the council for its purposes.  The council is to organize as soon as practicable but no later than 60 days following the appointment of its members.  The council will be entitled to call to its assistance and avail itself of the services of the employees of any State, county, or municipal department, board, bureau, commission, or agency as it may require and as may be available to it for its purposes, and will be entitled to assistance from the Administrative Office of the Courts to provide information needed for the council’s purposes.  The council will be required to annually prepare its administrative budget and work plan in conformance with its duties, and will secure staff services from the State entities represented by the ex officio members, as well as from other council member organizations and from other contracted professional staffing and support services, as may be necessary for the council to carry out its duties under the bill.

     The purpose of the council will be to guide and oversee the development and implementation of a Statewide initiative focusing on the social and economic well-being of infants, children, youth, and families and the provision of holistic, age and developmentally appropriate services that support a child’s development from birth to young adulthood.  The initiative will be based on the four pillars of family success: positive family relationships and community connections; safety and financial security; high quality education and quality learning environments; and good health and infant, child, youth, and family well-being.

     In order to implement the Statewide initiative, the council will:

     (1)   use the Bill of Rights for Infants, Children, Youth, and Families, which will be established under companion legislation pending in the current Legislative session, Senate Bill No. 1726 and Assembly Bill No. 3323, to provide a framework for the initiative’s implementation;

     (2)   identify policies, procedures, practices, and financial priorities relating to preventive services for at-risk infants, children, youth, and families and the gaps in those policies, procedures, practices, and financial priorities, and develop strategies to promote the well-being of infants, children, youth, and families and  encourage family success;

     (3)   review the programs, policies, and initiatives of the Departments of Children and Families, Community Affairs, Corrections, Education, Health, Human Services, Labor and Workforce Development, and Law and Public Safety, and any other departments of State government and any community-based organizations  as may be appropriate, and make recommendations that will enable such departments and organizations to better coordinate and improve the effectiveness of the department or organization’s programs, policies, and initiatives;

     (4)   conduct ongoing, comprehensive  cost-benefit analyses of the budgets of State departments and community-based organizations that provide services to at-risk infants, children, youth, and families, and State and local funding mechanisms for infant, child, youth, and family service systems, to identify and make recommendations on how to redirect resources and programmatic focus from distress services to preventive services for at-risk infants, children, youth, and families and for family success initiatives;

     (5)   explore strategies to maximize and effectively utilize all State, county, municipal, and federal funding sources, as well as any funds from business and philanthropic investments as may be available, for the purpose of providing supportive and preventive services to infants, children, youth, and families and to improve family success outcomes; and

     (6)   establish community recovery and family success councils in each county of the State, which councils will assess local infant, child, and youth demographics, including age, gender, race, socio-economic status, and ethnicity, as well as indicators of well-being; collect and analyze information concerning the services and resources that are currently available, the cost and availability of services and programs, and the met and unmet needs of infants, children, youth, and families; and develop methods that support innovative preventive services for at-risk infants, children, youth, and families and the development of local family success initiatives.

     The goal of the Statewide initiative will be to:   promote positive family relationships, community connections, and preventive services to ensure the financial security, quality education, good health, safety, permanency, and well-being of infants, children, youth, and families through an integrated service planning and delivery system of care; develop and recommend the adoption of community-informed family success outcomes, including specified performance-based outcome measures and objectives; identify obstacles that impede or prevent family success and develop strategies to successfully overcome such obstacles; explore the role of institutional racism and bias in the delivery of services to at-risk infants, children, youth, and families, and how racism and bias can impede or prevent family success; identify policies and practices that promote the delivery of preventive services to at-risk infants, children, youth, and families and encourage family success; and incorporate input from key stakeholders, including parents, family members, community members, and children receiving preventive services from the Departments of Children and Families, Community Affairs, Corrections, Education, Health, Human Services, Labor and Workforce Development, and Law and Public Safety, as well as any other department of State government and any community-based organization, on the development of a plan to design, strengthen, or implement local family success initiatives.

     Subject to the availability of funds, the council will be required to implement the Statewide initiative over the course of the next three fiscal years.  The council will establish criteria for the allocation of funds made available to the council, assigning priority to both the total child population and percentage of child poverty in each eligible jurisdiction.  The initial funding of local family success councils will be based on an assessment of need and county readiness.

     All departments and agencies of the State and community-based organizations that provide relevant distress or preventive services, maintain relevant data sets, or perform functions pertinent to relevant distress or prevention programs will be required to assist the council in its responsibilities.

     The bill defines “distress services” to mean services intended to remediate circumstances, including but not limited to, educational, social, and parental failures, and family crises, that endanger the safety, permanency, health, and well-being of infants, children, and youth; and “preventative services” to mean services that promote the safety, permanency, health, and well-being of infants, children, youth, and their families and divert the need for crisis-related services.

     The council will be required to submit an annual report to the Governor and the Legislature with the council’s recommendations for legislative and administrative actions regarding the use of federal, State, county, municipal, and business and philanthropic funds to support the development and implementation of innovative family success initiatives and preventive services for all infants, children, youth, and families in New Jersey.

     The bill appropriates from the General Fund to the council the sum of $772.6 million to implement the provisions of the bill.  Of this amount, the council may expend no more than $71.4 million in State Fiscal Year 2023, no more than $280 million in State Fiscal Year 2024, and no more than $421.2 million in State Fiscal Year 2025.  Unexpended amounts appropriated to the council will not be returned to the General Fund at the close of a fiscal year, and will be retained by the council in the succeeding fiscal year for the purposes of implementing the provisions of the bill.  The council will be authorized to invest unexpended funds appropriated under the bill, and to use dividends and interest earned on the amount invested for the purposes of implementing the provisions of the bill.