Bill Text: NJ S2335 | 2010-2011 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Revises civil service status of certain county welfare agency management positions and requires county welfare agencies to adjust office hours.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-10-07 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee [S2335 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2010-S2335-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator DONALD NORCROSS
District 5 (Camden and Gloucester)
SYNOPSIS
Revises civil service status of certain county welfare agency management positions and requires county welfare agencies to adjust office hours.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning county welfare agencies and revising parts of statutory law.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. R.S.44:4-33 is amended to read as follows:
44:4-33. The director of welfare [shall] and the deputy director may be [and hereby is classified in the competitive class of the classified service as defined and provided in Title 11, Civil Service, notwithstanding the county welfare board may not otherwise be operating under the provisions of Title 11, Civil Service. Directors of welfare hereafter appointed shall have a working test period, as otherwise defined and governed by sections 11:12-1 and 11:12-2, which shall be not shorter than six months and which shall, on request of the appointing authority, be extended for an additional period or periods not to exceed a total of twelve months including the initial period] , in the unclassified service and in which case, the person shall serve at the pleasure of the county welfare board.
Notwithstanding the provisions of this section to the contrary, a person appointed by the county welfare board as a director of welfare or deputy director prior to the date of enactment of P.L. , c. (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall continue to serve in the career service.
(cf: P.L.1940, c.187, s.1)
2. R.S.44:4-34 is amended to read as follows:
44:4-34. The county welfare board shall appoint [such other officers, assistants and] employees as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter. All [employees of the county welfare board shall hold their office or employment during good behavior, and may be removed upon written charges and after a hearing, due notice of which shall be given therefor by the county welfare board, for misconduct, neglect or incompetence] such employees shall be part of the career service.
(cf: R.S.44:4-34)
3. R.S.44:7-9 is amended to read as follows:
44:7-9. The county welfare board shall annually elect from among its members a chairman, vice-chairman and secretary-treasurer. The director of welfare, appointed as hereinafter provided, shall not be a member of the board. The county welfare board shall appoint such other officers, assistants and employees as may be necessary and proper to carry out the provisions of this chapter, subject to compliance with the personnel standards and regulations established and maintained by the Civil Service Commission or the State division or both as otherwise provided. It may also determine the compensation of the director, deputy director, and other employees within the limits of the sums made available for that purpose by the board of chosen freeholders and the State, as hereinafter provided. The director of welfare, officers, assistants and other employees shall be subject to such rules and regulations in the discharge of their duties as may be made by [such] the county welfare board and the State division. All regular employees are hereby empowered to take and certify any and all affidavits and acknowledgments as are required on papers or documents executed in connection with the administration of this chapter or other public welfare functions and for this purpose shall be vested with all powers and authority now exercised by other persons authorized to take affidavits and acknowledgments. All such employees of the county welfare board shall hold their office or employment during good behavior, and may be removed upon written charges and after a hearing, due notice of which shall be given therefor by the county welfare board, for misconduct, neglect, incompetency, or other just cause.
All paid officers and employees of any county welfare board, except the director, the deputy director, and any attorney serving as legal counsel, which county welfare board operates under the provisions of Title [11] 11A, Civil Service, shall be [and the same hereby are] classified in the competitive class of the [classified] career service, and all such officers and employees of any county welfare board which does not operate under the provisions of Title [11] 11A, Civil Service, shall be similarly classified under the personnel standards to be established and maintained by the State division. The director and deputy director, if in the unclassified service, shall serve at the pleasure of the county welfare board.
Notwithstanding the provisions of this section to the contrary, a person appointed by the county welfare board as a director of welfare or deputy director prior to the date of enactment of P.L. , c. (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall continue to serve in the career service. All [such] other paid officers and employees, presently employed by any county welfare board, who have been so employed for a continuous period of at least one year prior to adoption of this act and, who have not previously entered the service of the county or of the county welfare board through competitive or qualifying examination, and who are not otherwise granted permanent status by the provisions of this section, shall be permitted to obtain permanent status in their present positions through qualifying examination. [All such paid officers and employees who are not permanent employees in the competitive class or who have previously entered the service of the county or of the county welfare board through competitive or qualifying examination, shall be and the same hereby are granted permanent status in their present positions without further examination. All such paid officers and employees, presently employed by any county welfare board, who have heretofore been appointed or reappointed and qualified under section 44:7-6 of the Revised Statutes as adopted March sixteenth, one thousand nine hundred and thirty-six, and who have held their respective offices and positions for a period equal to the minimum required probationary period for such offices or positions, shall be and the same hereby are granted permanent status in their present positions without further examination.]
(cf: P.L.1942, c.173, s.2)
4. R.S.44:7-11 is amended to read as follows:
44:7-11. a. The county welfare board shall appoint a director of welfare, who [shall have the qualifications herein provided] may be in the unclassified service, in which case, the director shall serve at the pleasure of the county welfare board.
Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection to the contrary, a person appointed by the county welfare board as a director of welfare prior to the date of enactment of P.L. , c. (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall continue to serve in the career service. The county adjuster, when qualified, may be appointed to this office, but when so appointed shall not serve as an ex-officio member of the county welfare board.
The director of welfare shall [be and hereby is classified in the competitive class of the classified service as defined and provided in Title 11, Civil Service, notwithstanding the county welfare board may not otherwise be operating under the provisions of Title 11, Civil Service. Directors of welfare hereafter appointed shall have a working test period, as otherwise defined and governed by sections 11:12-1 and 11:12-2, which shall be not shorter than six months and which shall, on request of the appointing authority, be extended for an additional period or periods not to exceed a total of twelve months including the initial period.
He shall] be: the clerk of the county welfare board and [shall] serve as such without additional compensation[. He shall be]; and
the chief executive and approval officer of the county welfare board[,] and [shall] exercise all the powers pertaining thereto.
[He] The director of welfare shall be a citizen of the State and of the United States, shall be capable of making and keeping such records and reports as are lawfully required, shall have adequate knowledge of the laws concerning old age assistance; and shall be a trained and qualified expert in the field of welfare service, with administrative experience therein or possess educational, management or other qualifications that make the director suitable for the position.
b. The county welfare board may appoint a deputy director of welfare, who shall have qualifications necessary to the appointment of directors of welfare and be under the supervision of [such] the director of welfare, and be vested, on approval of the county welfare board, with the same powers as the director of welfare. The deputy director of welfare [shall be and hereby is classified] may be in the [competitive class of the classified] unclassified service , in which case, the deputy director shall serve at the pleasure of the county welfare board [as defined and provided in Title 11, Civil Service, notwithstanding the county welfare board may not otherwise be operating under the provisions of Title 11, Civil Service].
Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection to the contrary, a person appointed by the county welfare board as a deputy director of welfare prior to the date of enactment of P.L. , c. (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall continue to serve in the career service.
(cf: P.L.1940, c.186, s.3)
5. (New section) a. The Director of the Division of Family Development in the Department of Human Services shall require each county welfare agency to adjust its office hours to include early morning hours at least one day a week and evening hours at least one day a week. The director shall not require a county welfare agency to increase the total number of office hours in a week.
b. The Commissioner of Human Services shall adopt rules and regulations, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), to effectuate the purposes of this section.
6. This act shall take effect immediately, except that section 5 shall take effect on the 180th day after the date of enactment, but the Commissioner of Human Services may take such anticipatory administrative action in advance as shall be necessary for the implementation of section 5.
STATEMENT
This bill concerns the civil service status of certain management positions at county welfare boards (or county boards of social services as they are otherwise known). The bill clarifies that the job titles of certain management positions (directors and deputy directors of county welfare boards) may be removed from the classified service, at the discretion of the county (instead of requiring that these titles be removed from the classified service), in which case, the director or deputy director shall serve at the pleasure of the county welfare board.
Specifically, the provisions of the bill would apply prospectively to the positions of director and deputy director of welfare. The bill provides that a person appointed as a director or deputy director prior to the date of enactment of the bill shall continue to serve in the career service.
Authorizing the counties to remove these job titles from the career civil service would ensure that the top management of a county welfare agency is responsible directly to the board for policy decisions and day-to-day operations, which is expected to result in greater accountability and fiscal responsibility with respect to the services provided, and allow for greater efficiency through opportunities for centralization of management staff functions. In addition, this change would provide the board with the flexibility to fill a vacancy in these positions from a broader spectrum of candidates with more diverse experience, who may not be in the career service.
The bill also amends R.S.44:7-11 to add the option that a director of welfare have educational, management or other qualifications that make the director suitable for the position.
The bill also mandates that the Director of the Division of Family Development (DFD) in the Department of Human Services require that each county welfare agency adjust its office hours to include early morning hours at least one day a week, and evening hours at least one day a week. The director shall not require a county welfare agency to increase the total number of office hours in a week.
Adjustments to the office hours of county welfare agencies will provide the working poor in the State with greater access to the services and programs for which they are eligible. DFD regulations currently encourage county welfare agencies to offer appointments outside normal business hours, but do not require that they do so. Some, although not all, county welfare agencies currently offer certain office hours outside normal business hours.
