Bill Text: NJ A1661 | 2014-2015 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Directs Department of Corrections to provide employment assistance to inmates prior to release.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-01-16 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Law and Public Safety Committee [A1661 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2014-A1661-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
216th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2014 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman GORDON M. JOHNSON
District 37 (Bergen)
Assemblyman BENJIE E. WIMBERLY
District 35 (Bergen and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
Directs Department of Corrections to provide employment assistance to inmates prior to release.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
An Act concerning transitional services for inmates and supplementing Title 30 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. No less than 30 days before an inmate in a State correctional facility is scheduled for parole or release, the Department of Corrections, working in conjunction with the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, shall provide the inmate with a list of employers willing to hire former offenders and assist the inmate in contacting the appropriate One Stop Career Center to initiate, prior to the inmate's release, such personal assessments, counseling, career exploration, job coaching, and job readiness activities as may be appropriate and necessary to aid the inmate in securing a job upon release.
The Department of Corrections, through its Office of Transitional Services, shall assist inmates in scheduling post release job interviews with those employers.
2. This act shall take effect on the first day of the third month following enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill requires the Department of Corrections (DOC), in conjunction with the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, to provide State inmates, prior to release, with a list of employers willing to hire former offenders and to assist State inmates in contacting the appropriate One Stop Career Center to initiate, prior to release, personal assessments, counseling, career exploration, job coaching, and job readiness activities as may be necessary and appropriate to aid inmates in securing employment upon release.
The bill stipulates that the DOC is required to provide the information and assistance to inmates no less than 30 days prior to the date an inmate is scheduled for parole or release.
The bill requires the DOC, through its Office of Transitional Services, to assist inmates in scheduling post release job interviews with employers willing to hire former offenders.
