Bill Text: NJ A1364 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires certain group homes and supervised apartments to install electronic monitoring devices in common areas under certain circumstances; "Billy Cray's Law."
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 3-0)
Status: (Failed) 2024-10-17 - Withdrawn from Consideration [A1364 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-A1364-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman CHRISTOPHER P. DEPHILLIPS
District 40 (Bergen, Essex and Passaic)
Assemblywoman MICHELE MATSIKOUDIS
District 21 (Middlesex, Morris, Somerset and Union)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman Swift
SYNOPSIS
Requires certain group homes and supervised apartments to install electronic monitoring devices in common areas under certain circumstances; "Billy Cray's Law."
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning the installation and use of electronic monitoring devices at group homes and supervised apartments for individuals with developmental disabilities, and supplementing Title 30 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. This act shall be known and may be cited as "Billy Cray's Law."
2. The Legislature finds and declares the following:
a. Individuals with developmental disabilities are particularly vulnerable to abuse, neglect, and exploitation by caregivers, guardians, and other persons.
b. Group homes and supervised apartments for individuals with developmental disabilities admirably enable these individuals to live more independently within a non-institutional setting; however, the lack of institutional controls and oversight at these homes ultimately makes it more difficult for the State, for individual group home and supervised apartment operators, and for concerned family members to promptly identify and respond to wrongdoing that may be committed by caregivers, guardians, staff, and other persons at the home.
c. The safety and quality of life of individuals with developmental disabilities who receive care from group homes and supervised apartments is of paramount concern, and the use of electronic monitoring is a reasonable means by which the State and concerned family members can better ensure the prevention of, and the institution of a more proactive response to, the abuse, neglect, and exploitation of group home and supervised apartment residents.
d. The use of video surveillance in group homes and supervised apartments will enable consenting residents and their authorized representatives to more proactively and effectively review and ensure the propriety of care that is being provided to such residents and will further enable the State, licensed service providers, and whistleblowers to more easily verify, and obtain evidence to substantiate or refute, allegations of abuse, neglect, and exploitation occurring in group homes and supervised apartments.
e. The State recognizes that each individual with developmental disabilities is unique and has differing needs and preferences, and that, while some residents and their authorized representatives may consent to the use of video surveillance to better ensure the residents' safety, others may refuse to consent to such video surveillance.
f. Through
the enactment of this act, it is the intent of the Legislature to make
electronic monitoring technology more readily available in group home and
supervised apartment settings, while taking great care to strike the important
and delicate balance between
protecting the privacy rights and protecting
the overall well-being of these residents. By increasing the availability of
electronic monitoring technology in group homes and supervised apartments, the
Legislature intends to: (1) make it easier for residents and their authorized
representatives to monitor residents' care, if they so choose; (2) make it
easier for concerned family members and whistleblowers to file and substantiate
complaints of abuse, neglect, exploitation, or other improper care or treatment
involving group home and supervised apartment residents; and (3) improve the
ability of the State and of individual licensees to verify and appropriately
respond to such complaints.
g. By enabling group home and supervised apartment residents with developmental disabilities and their authorized representatives to use electronic monitoring to protect against, provide documentary evidence of, and ensure a prompt and adequate response to, any abuse, neglect, and exploitation occurring in the group home or supervised apartment, the Legislature can further preserve the rights and safety of group home and supervised apartment residents.
h. This act is dedicated to William "Billy" Cray, a 33-year-old with developmental disabilities who, on a Sunday morning in August 2017, was inexplicably found dead in a Somers Point group home, operated by Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health New Jersey, where he resided. Billy Cray, who had suffered from institutional abuse since he was a child, was the son of Martha Cray, a dedicated and long-time advocate for persons with developmental disabilities. For many years, both preceding and following her son's death, Martha Cray, and Aileen Rivera of Wayne, New Jersey, whose son was badly beaten by a staffer at the North Jersey Development Center in Totowa, have continued to work tirelessly to advance legislation protecting the rights and safety of individuals with developmental disabilities, particularly those residing in group homes. Martha Cray and Aileen Rivera were particularly instrumental in facilitating the passage of "Stephen Komninos' Law," P.L.2017, c.238 (C.30:6D-9.1), which provides for the heightened scrutiny of group homes by requiring more frequent, unannounced oversight visits, and which requires group homes to provide prompt notice of injury to the parent or guardian of an injured resident.
i. Billy
Cray's death is yet another reminder of why the State needs to continue its
work both to strengthen oversight of group homes for individuals with developmental
disabilities and to further facilitate and enhance the ability of group home
residents and their family members or guardians, as the case may be, to take
affirmative steps to protect the rights and safety of residents and promptly
and appropriately respond to resident injuries and other concerning incidents
occurring in the group homes. By enabling group home residents with
developmental disabilities and their authorized representatives to use
video-based electronic monitoring to protect against, provide documentary
evidence of, and ensure a prompt and
adequate response to, any abuse, neglect, and
exploitation occurring in the group home, the Legislature can further preserve
the rights and safety of group home residents and facilitate the proactive prevention
of deaths like Billy Cray's.
3. As used in this act:
"Authorized representative" means a group home or supervised apartment resident's court-appointed guardian of the person or, if there is no guardian of the person, the person who holds a valid power of attorney or is otherwise legally authorized to act as the representative of the resident for the purposes of making decisions related to the resident's care and living arrangements. "Authorized representative" does not include a caregiver or any other person who is employed or contracted, on a paid or unpaid basis, by the group home or supervised apartment licensee.
"Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Human Services.
"Common areas" means the living areas, dining areas, entrances, hallways, outdoor areas, stairwells, and any other areas within a group home or supervised apartment, except the interior of bedrooms and bathrooms, which are commonly and communally accessible to all residents, and are not dedicated for private use by a particular resident. "Common areas" may include areas where bathroom door and bedroom door entrances are located.
"Division" means the Division of Developmental Disabilities in the Department of Human Services.
"Department" means the Department of Human Services.
"Disclose" means the same as that term is defined by subsection c. of section 1 of P.L.2003, c.206 (C.2C:14-9).
"Electronic monitoring device" means a camera or other electronic device that uses both audio and video recording capabilities to monitor the activities taking place in the area where the device is installed.
"Group home" means a living
arrangement that is licensed by the division, and is operated in a residence or
residences leased or owned by a licensee; which living arrangement either
provides the opportunity for multiple adults with developmental disabilities
to live together in a non-institutional, home-based setting or provides the
opportunity for a single adult with developmental disabilities and extreme
behavioral difficulties to live more independently, outside of an institution,
while still receiving full-time care; and in which on-site staff provides
supervision, training, or assistance, in a variety of forms and intensity, as
required to prevent or delay the institutionalization of the individual or
individuals residing in the home or to otherwise assist the individual or
individuals as they move toward independence. "Group home" does not include a
living arrangement that is dedicated for use by children with developmental disabilities.
"Licensee" means an individual, partnership, or corporation that is licensed by the division, and is, contracted, or otherwise authorized to operate a group home or supervised apartment in the State.
"Supervised apartment" means an apartment that is occupied by one or more individual with developmental disabilities; is leased or owned by a licensee; and in which staff provides supervision, guidance, and training, as needed, to assist individual occupants in the activities of daily living, in accordance with each individual's needs and targeted future goals.
4. a. A group home or supervised apartment for individuals with developmental disabilities shall install electronic monitoring devices in common areas, as provided by this section, for the purposes of monitoring residents' treatment and living conditions. Each licensee shall:
(1) within six months after the effective date of this act, and annually thereafter, provide written notice to all residents, and to their authorized representatives, informing residents of their right to have electronic monitoring devices installed in common areas, as provided by this section, and articulating the notice requirements that are to be satisfied pursuant to this subsection; and
(2) ensure that reasonable accommodations are made, as necessary, to enable the authorized use of electronic monitoring devices, as provided by this section.
b. (1) The installation and use of electronic monitoring devices in the common area of a group home or supervised apartment shall:
(a) be noncompulsory;
(b) be conditioned upon the licensee's receipt of written consent to such monitoring from all roommates of the resident who is requesting the monitoring, or from the roommates' authorized representative, as appropriate; and
(c) to the extent practicable, protect the privacy rights of all roommates of the resident who is requesting the monitoring.
(2) Each resident, or the authorized representative thereof, who requests the installation of an electronic monitoring device in a common area, shall file with the licensee: a signed form, developed by the division, formally requesting and giving the resident's express consent for the installation and use of one or more electronic monitoring devices in a common area.
(3) The installation and use of electronic monitoring devices in a common area shall comply with any installation or building construction constraints that are identified by the licensee.
c. If a resident's
roommate or the roommate's authorized representative, as appropriate, refuses
to consent to the installation and use of an electronic monitoring device in a
common area, the licensee shall, within a reasonable period of time, and to the
extent that it is possible and practicable, present the resident, who is
objecting to the installation of the device, the option to transfer to a
different group home or supervised apartment, in order to accommodate the
resident's request for electronic monitoring.
d. A licensee shall not refuse to admit an individual to a group home or supervised apartment, and shall not transfer or remove an individual from a group home or supervised apartment, except as provided by subsection c. of this section, on the basis that the individual, or the individual's authorized representative, has requested electronic monitoring of a common area, as authorized by this section.
e. A licensee shall ensure that a prominent written notice is posted on the entry door to any group home or supervised apartment wherein electronic monitoring devices are installed and used pursuant to this section. The notice shall indicate that an electronic monitoring device has been installed in a common area, and that visitors will be subject to electronic video monitoring while present therein.
f. All costs associated with the installation and maintenance of an electronic monitoring device in a common area shall be borne by the licensee.
g. (1) Any recordings produced by an electronic monitoring device that has been installed in a common area, pursuant to this section, shall remain the property and be retained in the possession of the licensee.
(2) Whenever an electronic monitoring device is proposed to be installed in a common area, pursuant to this section, a resident, who will be subject to electronic monitoring, or an authorized representative thereof, as the case may be, may elect to provide that, as a condition of the installation and ongoing use of the device in the common area, the resident and the resident's authorized representative shall have the right and ability to access and review any recordings that are produced by the device, upon a request submitted to the licensee. This condition on the installation and use of an electronic monitoring device in a common area, if elected by a resident or the resident's authorized representative, shall be memorialized in an electronic monitoring agreement that is executed pursuant to this paragraph. Any such electronic monitoring agreement shall also describe the procedures or protocols that are to be used by the licensee to ensure that the resident or the authorized representative thereof, as the case may be, is provided with timely access to all relevant footage recorded by the device, upon submission of a request therefor.
(3) The licensee shall maintain the confidentiality of each recording produced by the installed device and shall not disclose any such recording to any person who is not authorized to receive or review the recording. Any licensee who, in violation of the provisions of this paragraph, discloses a recording to a person not authorized by law to receive or review it shall be guilty of a crime of the fourth degree.
(4) Nothing in this subsection shall be deemed to prohibit a licensee from disclosing a recording in a common area, upon request or otherwise, to a State or local law enforcement agency or officer or to any other person who is authorized by law to investigate, prosecute, or take other official remedial action in response to alleged incidents of abuse, neglect, exploitation, or improper care or treatment.
h. (1) A licensee who installs an electronic monitoring device in a common area, as provided by this section, shall be authorized to remove the device from service at any time following its installation if a resident revokes his or her previously granted consent to electronic monitoring, or if the individual who requested electronic monitoring is no longer a resident of the group home or supervised apartment. Any licensee who removes an electronic monitoring device pursuant to this subsection shall provide written notice of such removal, to affected residents, within 48 hours after the device is removed from service.
(2) Whenever the roommate of a resident, or the roommate's authorized representative, revokes the roommate's previously granted consent for the use of electronic monitoring devices in a common area, the licensee shall present the resident, who is revoking his or her consent, with an opportunity to transfer to another group home or supervised apartment, if possible and practicable, in accordance with the provisions of subsection c. of this section, to accommodate the resident's preexisting request for electronic monitoring.
i. A family member or guardian of a resident of a group home or supervised apartment with an electronic monitoring device installed in a common area, shall be permitted to review recordings captured by the device if the family member or guardian believes that the resident has suffered abuse, neglect, exploitation, or improper care or treatment.
5. a. (1) Within 90 days after the effective date of this act, the division, in consultation with the Ombudsman for Individuals with Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities and Their Families, the New Jersey Council on Developmental Disabilities, and selected group home and supervised apartment providers, shall establish and publish guidelines for the development of internal policies pursuant to this section.
(2) Within 180 days after the publication of guidelines pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection, each licensee shall develop and submit to the division a written internal policy specifying the procedures and protocols that are to be used by facility staff when installing and utilizing electronic monitoring devices as provided by this act.
b. An internal electronic
monitoring policy established pursuant to this section shall:
(1) describe the procedures and protocols that are to be used:
(a) when obtaining consent from residents for the use of electronic monitoring devices in a group home's or supervised apartment's common areas, as provided by section 3 of this act;
(b) when removing, and providing notice to residents about their right to collectively request the removal of, electronic monitoring devices from common areas; and
(c) when transferring a resident whose request for electronic monitoring in a common area cannot be accommodated, due either to conditions imposed or the declination or revocation of consent by the resident's roommate;
(2) identify the make and model of electronic monitoring devices that may be installed and used within the group home or supervised apartment for the purposes of this act. The policy shall authorize the use of multiple types of electronic monitoring devices for these purposes;
(3) indicate how the licensee will ensure the proper installation, positioning, and use of electronic monitoring devices in a common area; and
(4) describe the procedures and protocols that are to be used in the review of footage recorded by electronic monitoring devices in the group home or supervised apartment. The procedures and protocols adopted pursuant to this paragraph shall, at a minimum: identify the persons who will have access to footage recorded by electronic monitoring devices installed in the common areas.
c. Whenever a licensee receives notice about a complaint, allegation, or reported incident of abuse, neglect, or exploitation occurring within the group home or supervised apartment, the licensee shall forward to the division, for appropriate review, any and all potentially relevant footage recorded by electronic monitoring devices in common areas. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection g. of section 3 of this act to the contrary, any licensee who is in possession of potentially relevant footage related to an incident of abuse, neglect, or exploitation, as provided by this subsection, shall be required to turn over the pertinent recording or recordings to the division in accordance with the provisions of this subsection. However, nothing in this subsection shall be deemed to authorize the licensee to review, or to make copies of, any footage contained on any such recordings, absent the express written consent of the resident or the resident's authorized representative.
6. a. The division shall:
(1) develop, and provide to each licensee, consent forms that are to be filled out and signed by individuals who consent to, or request, electronic monitoring under this act, and consent declination forms that are to be filled out and signed by individuals who refuse to consent to such electronic monitoring; and
(2) develop, and post on its Internet website, standardized notice of intent forms that a group home or supervised apartment resident and the resident's authorized representative may elect to use when providing a licensee with a notice requesting electronic monitoring of a common area.
b. Consent forms, consent declination forms, and notices of intent forms filed under this act shall be retained by the licensee for a period of time to be determined by the division.
c. When seeking to obtain consent from residents for electronic monitoring, as required by this act, a licensee shall comply with best practices that apply to professional interactions or communications being undertaken with persons with developmental disabilities, and particularly, with those persons who have difficulty with communication or understanding.
d. The division may establish additional consent or consent declination requirements, for the purposes of this act, as deemed by the division to be necessary.
7. In the case of a resident with a reasonable expectation to privacy, if the resident was recorded in an area outside of a common area, while engaged in an act of sexual penetration or sexual contact, or with exposed intimate parts, a licensee shall be liable to that resident in a civil action in the Superior Court, if the licensee is found to have failed to install the electronic monitoring devices in a manner that reasonably prevented electronic monitoring in an areas outside of a common area.
c. The court may award:
(1) actual damages, but not less than liquidated damages computed at the rate of $1,000 for each violation of this section;
(2) punitive damages upon proof of willful or reckless disregard of the law;
(3) reasonable attorney's fees and other litigation costs reasonably incurred; and
(4) such other preliminary and equitable relief as the court determines to be appropriate.
8. The Department of Human Services shall award grant monies to licensees to be used the cover the cost of the installation of electronic monitoring devices, as required pursuant to this act, from available funds that may be appropriated or otherwise made available to the department to effectuate the provisions of this act.
9. Notwithstanding any provision of this act to the contrary, if, as of the effective date of this act, a licensee who has installed and is utilizing electronic monitoring devices in a common area of a group home or supervised apartment, the licensee shall: be permitted to continue to utilize the devices so installed in accordance with the licensee's written internal policies; not be required to comply with the provisions of this act in order to continue utilizing the previously installed devices; and not be required to remove the existing devices from service. To the extent that a group home's or supervised apartment's common areas do not contain electronic monitoring devices on the effective date of this act, the licensee shall comply with the provisions of this act, as applicable, when installing and utilizing new electronic monitoring devices in common areas.
10. a. Any licensee that fails to comply with the provisions of this act shall be subject to a penalty of $5,000 for the first offense, and a penalty of $10,000 for the second or subsequent offense, to be collected with costs in a summary proceeding, pursuant to the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999," P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.), as well as an appropriate administrative penalty, the amount of which shall be determined by the division.
b. A group home or supervised apartment licensee shall not be subject to penalties, under this section, or any other disciplinary action for failing to comply with the requirements of this act, as applicable, if the group home or supervised apartment licensee establishes, through documentation or otherwise, that the licensee is exempt from compliance with those requirements, as provided by section 6 of this act.
11. a. Within five years after the effective date of this act, the division shall prepare and submit to the Governor, and, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), to the Legislature, a written report that:
(1) identifies best practices for the installation and use of electronic monitoring devices under this act;
(2) identifies best practices and provides recommendations on obtaining informed consent for electronic monitoring, as provided by this act; and
(3) provides recommendations for the implementation of new legislation, policies, protocols, and procedures related to the use of electronic monitoring devices in group homes and supervised apartments.
b. The commissioner, in consultation with the assistant commissioner of the division, shall:
(1) annually prepare and submit to the Governor, and, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1 et seq.), to the Legislature, a written report describing how this act has been implemented in the State. Each annual report shall include, at a minimum:
(a) a list of group homes and supervised apartments that are currently using electronic monitoring devices in common areas;
(b) a list of group homes and supervised apartments that have not installed electronic monitoring devices in common areas;
(c) to the extent known, a list of group homes and supervised apartments that have failed to install and use electronic monitoring devices in common areas upon the request of residents, despite the licensee's receipt of uniform resident consent authorizing such monitoring, and an indication of the penalties that were imposed under this act in response to such failures;
(d) a list of group homes and supervised apartments that are exempt from compliance with the provisions of this act;
(e) a list of group homes and supervised apartments that have removed electronic monitoring devices from common areas, pursuant to the collective request of residents;
(f) to the extent known, a list of group homes and supervised apartments that have failed to remove electronic monitoring devices from common areas, despite the licensee's receipt of a collective request from residents, and an indication of the penalties that were imposed under this act in response to such failures; and
(g) recommendations for legislative, executive, or other action that can be taken to improve compliance with the act's provisions, or to otherwise expand the consensual use of electronic monitoring devices in group homes and supervised apartments; and
(2) post, at a publicly accessible location on the department's Internet website, the various lists of group homes and supervised apartments produced under paragraph (1) of this subsection, and annually update its Internet website to ensure that each list contains the most current data reported pursuant to this subsection. Each list posted online shall be searchable by location and by name of the group home and supervised apartment.
c. The Ombudsman for Individuals with Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities and Their Families shall include, in each of the ombudsman's annual reports prepared pursuant to section 3 of P.L.2017, c.269 (C.30:1AA-9.3), a section evaluating the implementation of this act and providing recommendations for improvement.
12. The Commissioner of Human Services, in consultation with the assistant commissioner of the division, shall adopt rules and regulations, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), as may be necessary to effectuate the provisions of this act.
13. This act shall take effect on the first day of the third month next following the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill requires certain
group homes and supervised apartments to install electronic monitoring devices
in common areas under certain circumstances.
A group home or supervised apartment, as these terms are defined in the bill, for individuals with developmental disabilities are to install electronic monitoring devices in a common area, as this term is defined under the bill, for the purposes of monitoring residents' treatment and living conditions. Each licensee, as defined in the bill, is to:
(1) provide written notice to all residents of their right to have electronic monitoring devices installed in common areas; and
(2) ensure that reasonable accommodations are made, as necessary, to enable the authorized use of electronic monitoring devices.
Under the bill, the installation and use of electronic monitoring devices in the common area of a group home or supervised apartment is to: be noncompulsory; be conditioned upon the licensee's receipt of written consent to such monitoring from all roommates; and to the extent practicable, protect the privacy rights of all roommates of the resident who is requesting the monitoring.
The bill provides that if a resident's roommate refuses to consent to the installation and use of an electronic monitoring device in a common area, the licensee is to, within a reasonable period of time, and to the extent that it is possible and practicable, present the resident, who is objecting to the installation of the device, with an opportunity to transfer to a different group home or supervised apartment, in order to accommodate the resident's request for electronic monitoring.
The bill provides that a licensee who fails to install electronic monitoring devices in a manner that reasonably ensures that electronic monitoring does not occur in an area that is outside of a common area may be liable to a resident whose privacy rights were violated, as described in the bill.
Under the bill, the Department of Human Services is to award grant monies to licensees to be used to the cover the cost of the installation of electronic monitoring devices from available funds that may be appropriated or otherwise made available to the department.
The Division of Developmental Disabilities is to: 1) establish and publish guidelines for the development of internal policies regarding the installation and use of electronic monitoring devices pursuant to the bill's provisions; 2) develop and provide consent forms that are to be filled out and signed by individuals who consent to, or request, electronic monitoring under this bill; 3) and submit a report to the Governor and Legislature.
Any licensee that fails to
comply with the provisions of this bill is to be subject to a penalty of $5,000
for the first offense, and a penalty of $10,000 for the second or subsequent
offense, to be collected with costs in a summary proceeding, pursuant to the
"Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999," P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.).
This bill is named in honor of Billy Cray, an individual with a developmental disability who, in 2017, at 33 years of age, was unfortunately found dead in the group home in New Jersey where he resided.
