Bill Text: NJ A4365 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes Council for Community Recovery and Family Success; appropriates $4.0 million.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-05-13 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Children, Families and Food Security Committee [A4365 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-A4365-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman REGINALD W. ATKINS
District 20 (Union)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes Council for Community Recovery and Family Success; appropriates $4.0 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 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 programs, which promote prevention, early intervention, and the well-being of infants, children, youth, and families 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 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 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 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.
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, Corrections, 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.
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) advocate for a State Bill of Rights for Infants, Children, Youth, and Families 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 for infants, children, youth, and families and to improve family success outcomes; and
(f) establish community recovery and family success councils, which shall include members of existing councils, boards, and task forces where indicated, 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 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. 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 findings 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" 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.
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.
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 Community Affairs, which will develop strategies to promote the well-being of infants, children, youth, and families, and encourage family success.
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, who will be representatives of certain entities that provide services to children and families, or have certain experience with receiving family services in New Jersey.
The council will manage the development and implementation of a Statewide initiative concerning 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.
In order to implement the Statewide initiative, the council will:
(1) advocate for a State Bill of Rights for Infants, Children, Youth, and Families, which will provide a framework for the initiative;
(2) identify and develop policies, strategies, and financial priorities that promote family success;
(3) recommend policies to improve the efficacy of existing State and community-based services and programs;
(4) explore strategies to leverage public and private funding to provide preventive services; and
(5) establish community recovery and family success councils in each county.
The goal of the Statewide initiative will be to: promote positive family relationships, community connections, and preventive services to ensure financial security, quality education, health, safety, and permanency for infants, children, youth, and families through an integrated service planning and delivery system.
The bill defines "distress services" to mean services to remediate circumstances that endanger the safety, permanency, health, and well-being of infants, children, and youth; and "preventative services" as those services that promote the safety, permanency, health, and well-being of the target populations and divert the need for distress services.
The council will submit an annual report to the Governor and the Legislature that will include recommendations for legislative and administrative actions on the use of public and private resources to support family success initiatives and preventive services for all families.
The bill appropriates $4.0 million from the General Fund to the council to implement the provisions of the bill, and provides that the council may use any unexpended appropriations in the succeeding fiscal year.
