STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator M. TERESA RUIZ
District 29 (Essex and Hudson)
SYNOPSIS
Requires various State departments to provide linkages to information on "baby boxes" and safe sleep education on their websites.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning safe sleep education and supplementing Title 9 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. The Department of Children and Families shall prepare and make available on the department's Internet website, in an easily printable format, information on the program providing "baby boxes" and safe sleep education to expecting and new parents. The department shall update the information whenever new information about the program becomes available.
b. The department shall post a website link to the program providing the "baby boxes" and safe sleep education on its Internet website, and shall ensure that the link is easily accessible to the public, is prominently displayed on the website, and is updated as necessary.
c. The department shall ensure, in consultation with the Departments of Health, Human Services, and Education, and, as deemed appropriate by the Department of Children and Families, in consultation with any other State department that provides services to parents or children, that:
(1) the information posted on its website pursuant to subsection a. of this section is also made available on the websites of the Department of Health, the Department of Human Services, the Department of Education, and any other appropriate State department that provides services to parents or children, and is updated as necessary; and
(2) a website link to the program providing "baby boxes" and safe sleep education is posted to the websites of the Department of Health, the Department of Human Services, the Department of Education, and any other appropriate State department that provides services to parents or children, and is updated as necessary.
d. As used in this section, "baby box" means a box made of durable cardboard, filled with essential items for newborns and expecting and new parents, such as diapers, baby wipes, and information on safe sleep techniques, that can serve as a safe sleep environment for the first few months of an infant's life, and meets all applicable tenets of the bassinet standard established by the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission.
2. The Department of Children and Families, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.) shall adopt rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of this act.
3. This act shall take effect on the first day of the third month following enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill mandates that the Department of Children and Families (DCF) prepare and make available on its Internet website, in an easily printable format, information on the program providing "baby boxes" and safe sleep education to expecting and new parents. DCF would update the information whenever new information on the program becomes available.
DCF would also be required to post a website link to the program providing the "baby boxes" and safe sleep education on its website, and ensure that the link is easily accessible to the public, prominently displayed on the website, and updated as necessary.
As used in bill, "baby box" means a box made of durable cardboard, filled with essential items for newborns and expecting and new parents, such as diapers, baby wipes, and information on safe sleep techniques, that can serve as a safe sleep environment for the first few months of an infant's life, and meets all applicable tenets of the bassinet standard established by the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission.
The bill stipulates that DCF would ensure, in consultation with all other State departments, that the information posted on its website is made available, and the website link to the program providing the "baby boxes" and safe sleep education is posted on the website of every State department, and is updated as necessary.
"Baby boxes" are made of durable cardboard, filled with essential items for newborns, such as diapers and baby wipes, and are large enough to serve as a crib for the first few months of an infant's life.
New Jersey's program, a partnership between the State's Child Fatality and Near Fatality Review Board and The Baby Box Company, provides all expecting and new parents with a free "baby box" after the parents complete an online parenting education course. The program is anticipated to distribute approximately 105,000 "baby boxes" throughout the State in 2017.