A4295 1R

An Act establishing the Council for Community Recovery and Family Success, ¹and¹ supplementing Title 9 of the Revised Statutes ¹[, and making an appropriation]¹.

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 in 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. A Bill of Rights, which would be 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 ¹[programs, which] services and supports designed and delivered by community-based service networks. Each network will be responsible for developing a plan to address family and childhood success and develop supportive and early intervention services that¹ promote ¹[prevention, early intervention, and]¹ the well-being of infants, children, youth, and families in order to improve ¹[the] life¹ 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 Community Affairs. 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 Community Affairs 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 ¹[25] 17¹ members as follows:

(1) the Commissioners of Children and Families, Community Affairs, ¹[Corrections,]¹ 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) ¹[13 public members appointed by the Governor, which members shall include representatives of children’s advocacy and family support, juvenile justice advocacy, behavioral health, housing support and homelessness prevention, and early childhood supports and education organizations, an organization providing support for family financial security, business and commerce, the faith-based community, a community leader, and 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 resident of an underserved community; 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 resident of an underserved community.] eight public members appointed by the Governor, which members shall include a representative of county government, a representative of municipal government, and representatives from: children’s advocacy and family support organizations; behavioral health organizations; housing support and homelessness prevention organizations; early childhood supports and education organizations; organizations providing support for family financial security, business and commerce; the faith-based community; community leaders; and parents or guardians whose children are receiving State-funded services;

(3) one public member appointed by the Senate President, which public member shall be a resident of an underserved community; and

(4) one public member appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly, which public member shall be a resident of an underserved community.¹

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 travel and other miscellaneous expenses necessary to perform their duties, within the limits of funds made available to the council for these purposes.

d. The council shall organize as soon as practicable but no later than 60 days following the appointment of its members, and shall select two co-chairpersons from among their members, one of whom shall be a State official and one of whom shall be a community representative. The chairpersons shall appoint a secretary who need not be a member of the council.

e. The council shall meet at the call of its chairpersons, 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 public or private agency as the council may require and as may be available for the council’s purposes, and shall be entitled to call on the assistance of professional services for support, and 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, ¹[Corrections,]¹ Education, Health, Human Services, and Labor and Workforce Development, the Juvenile Justice Commission, 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.

¹h. All funds provided to the council, including appropriations or grants from federal, State, or local government, private sector donations, or philanthropic gifts shall be held by and administered by the Community Foundation of New Jersey or similar non-governmental, nonprofit entity.¹

3. a. The purpose of the council shall be to ¹[guide and]¹ oversee ¹and support¹ the development ¹[and implementation]¹ of ¹[a Statewide initiative focusing on] community-based service networks in communities throughout the State with priority attention to those communities of greatest need. These community-based service networks will be place-based partnerships that may include, but are not limited to, local residents, local governmental authorities, local education agencies, community-based nonprofit organizations, local leaders, business leaders, health systems, and other partners. Each community-based service network will include a lead agency, which will be responsible for fiscal and administrative management of the network and fostering collaboration among all network members. The mission of each community-based service network is to enhance¹ 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) advocate for a State Bill of Rights for Infants, Children, Youth, and Families to provide a framework for the initiative’s implementation;

(b) ¹support community-based service network services that promote family economic security, lifelong education, good health and well-being, and safe and thriving communities;

(c) in collaboration with community-based service networks,¹ identify ¹and evaluate¹ policies, procedures, practices, and financial priorities relating to ¹[preventive] supportive¹ services for at-risk infants, children, youth, and families ¹[and the] ; eliminate any¹ gaps in those policies, procedures, practices, and financial priorities, and develop strategies to ¹further¹ promote the well-being of infants, children, youth, and families ¹[and encourage family success]¹;

¹[(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)] (d)¹ 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 for infants, children, youth, and families and to improve family success outcomes; and

¹[(f) establish community recovery and family success councils, which shall] (e) provide funding, technical support, and oversight of the community-based service networks, which may¹ include members of existing councils, boards, and task forces ¹[where indicated, in each county of the State]¹, which ¹[councils] networks¹ 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 goals 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 outcomes 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 Department of Children and Families and the Department of Human Services, 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. ¹[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.]¹ 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 findings of ¹[local family success councils] each community-based service network¹ shall be based on an assessment of need ¹[and county readiness] , collective impact, and readiness to implement or expand family success programs¹.

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” mean initiatives intended to remediate circumstances, including but not limited to, educational, social, and personal failures, and family crises, that endanger the safety, permanency, health, and well-being of infants, children, and youth.

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

¹[6. There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Council for Community Recovery and Family Success the sum of $4,000,000 to implement the provisions of this act. Unexpended amounts appropriated to the council pursuant to this section shall not be returned to the General Fund at the end of the 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.]¹

¹[7.] 6.¹ This act shall take effect immediately.