SENATE LABOR COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE, No. 1937

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  DECEMBER 8, 2020

      The Senate Labor Committee favorably reports Senate Bill No. 1937.

      This bill establishes the Task Force to Promote the Employment by State Agencies of People with Disabilities.  The Task Force is directed to study and make recommendations to the Governor and Legislature regarding the problem of unemployment and underemployment among individuals with disabilities in the State.  The Task Force will have 13 members, including one representative each for the Civil Service Commission, the Department of Education, the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, the State Treasurer, the Office of the Ombudsman for Individuals with Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities and their Families, the State Council on Developmental Disabilities, the State Rehabilitation Council, and the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development, who shall serve ex officio, and five members appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate for three year terms, as follows: a member representing the Association for Choices in Community Supports and Employment Services (ACCSES New Jersey); a member representing The Arc of New Jersey; a representative of a community rehabilitation program, and two individuals who have a disability.

      The task force is directed to study unemployment and underemployment among individuals with disabilities, review existing State programs to recruit and retain in employment individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, as well as similar programs in other states and private sector employers, and assist in identifying and implementing strategies to expand efforts of New Jersey State agencies to employ individuals with disabilities, and issue annual reports with recommendations to increase their employment.