ASSEMBLY AGING AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY, No. 2210

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  SEPTEMBER 14, 2026

      The Assembly Aging and Human Services Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Assembly Bill No. 2210.

     As amended by the committee, this bill requires homemaker-home health aide and nursing assistant certification examinations be made available in multiple languages.  As amended, the bill requires that the Department of Health (the department) establish and maintain standardized translations of any written or oral examination required for homemaker-home health aide certification, and that the New Jersey Board of Nursing (the board) not require an approved homemaker-home health aide training program to replace its existing examinations with the board's standardized examinations. 

     The bill’s provisions, as amended permit approved homemaker-home health aide training programs to elect to use one or more standardized examinations in available languages, and the board is to be responsible for developing, translating, validating, maintaining, and updating all standardized translated examinations made available under the bill.

     As amended, the bill requires that, at a minimum, standardized translated examinations provided by the board be made available in:  English; Spanish; Haitian Creole; Tagalog; French; Arabic; and any additional language determined by the board to represent a significant portion of the State’s homemaker-home health aide workforce.

     In determining the languages into which certification examinations are to be translated, the bill requires the department and board to consider certain criteria listed in the bill, periodically review the list of translated languages, and add additional languages as workforce needs change.

This bill was pre-filed for introduction in the 2026-2027 session pending technical review.  As reported, the bill includes the changes required by technical review, which has been performed.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS

     The committee amendments require homemaker-home health aide and nursing assistant certification examinations be made available in multiple languages.

     The committee amendments require the department to establish and maintain standardized translations of any written or oral examination required for homemaker-home health aide certification, and that the board not require an approved homemaker-home health aide training program to replace its existing examinations with the board's standardized examinations.

     The committee amendments permit approved homemaker-home health aide training programs to elect to use one or more standardized examinations in available languages, and the board is to be responsible for developing, translating, validating, maintaining, and updating all standardized translated examinations made available under the bill.

     The committee amendments requires that, at a minimum, standardized translated examinations provided by the board be made available in:  English; Spanish; Haitian Creole; Tagalog; French; Arabic; and any additional language determined by the board to represent a significant portion of the State’s homemaker-home health aide workforce based on available workforce data and updated periodically through regulation.

     The committee amendments require the department and board, in determining the languages into which certification examinations are to be translated, to consider: workforce demographic data; the most commonly spoken languages among certified nursing assistants and homemaker-home health aides seeking certification in New Jersey; recommendations contained in Statewide workforce studies; and any additional data deemed appropriate by the department or board.

     The committee amendments require the department and board  to periodically review the list of translated languages, and add additional languages as workforce needs change.