[First Reprint]

ASSEMBLY, No. 1428

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

218th LEGISLATURE

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2018 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman  ANGELA V. MCKNIGHT

District 31 (Hudson)

Assemblywoman  ANNETTE CHAPARRO

District 33 (Hudson)

Assemblyman  NICHOLAS CHIARAVALLOTI

District 31 (Hudson)

Assemblywoman  VALERIE VAINIERI HUTTLE

District 37 (Bergen)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblywomen DiMaso, Mosquera, Jasey, Murphy, Assemblymen Harold J. Wirths, Space and Assemblywoman Lampitt

SYNOPSIS

     Establishes Child Trafficking Awareness Pilot Program in DOE to train school district staff about warning signs and how to prevent child trafficking.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

     As reported by the Assembly Women and Children Committee on February 12, 2018, with amendments.

An Act establishing the Child Trafficking Awareness Pilot Program in the Department of Education and supplementing chapter 6 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

     1.  a.  The Commissioner of Education shall develop and administer a three-year Child Trafficking Awareness Pilot Program to provide school district staff ¹and students¹ in selected districts with training ¹[on how to identify and respond to child trafficking] about the warning signs and risk factors associated with child trafficking and how to prevent child trafficking¹.  The commissioner shall select two districts in each of the southern, central, and northern regions of the State to participate in the program and shall seek a cross section of school districts from urban, suburban, and rural areas of the State.

     b.    The purpose of the pilot program shall be to train public school teachers¹[and],¹ staff ¹[on], and students about child trafficking, including risk factors and warning signs, and¹ ways to identify student victims of child trafficking and help prevent child trafficking in schools.  The program shall include information ¹based on reseach¹ that promotes a greater understanding of: risk factors that make children more susceptible to becoming a victim of child trafficking; recruitment methods of traffickers; behavioral indicators that a student may be a victim of possible child trafficking; ¹[and]¹ how to report suspected cases of child trafficking to school administrators and law enforcement¹; and strategies to prevent children from becoming victims of child trafficking¹. 

     c.     The commissioner shall provide pilot districts with ¹a list of resources from established and reliable sources for training public school teachers, staff, and students, as well as¹ sample school policies and protocols for identifying a suspected victim of child trafficking and responding to a disclosure from a student that he is a victim of child trafficking.

     d.    At the conclusion of the pilot program, the commissioner shall submit a report to the Governor, and to the Legislature pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1).  The report shall contain information on the implementation of the pilot program and shall include the commissioner's recommendation on the feasibility of implementing the program on a Statewide basis.
     2.    This act shall take effect in the first full school year following the date of enactment.