S3462

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 crisis-related events. Consequently, the services provided to children and their families struggle to produce long-term positive results.

b. The State’s child welfare system is not organized to address the factors that lead to family crises, child maltreatment, and adverse childhood experiences.

c. A growing body of literature suggests that comprehensive, integrated, and sustained investments in prevention, early intervention, and 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 child maltreatment.

d. The solution to improve the outcomes of those children and families who are served by the child welfare system is to provide an interdisciplinary approach in the provision of family support and preventive services and to enact a Children’s Bill of Rights. This Bill of Rights, based on the United Nations Treaty on the Rights of the Child, would recognize and protect the rights of children and youth and provide a framework for the provision of preventive services to at-risk children and youth and their families.

e. It is therefore in the best interests of the State to invest in and implement programs that promote prevention, early intervention, and child, youth, and family well-being in order to improve the outcomes of those children and families who are served by the child welfare system.

2. a. There is established the Council for Community Recovery and Family Success in, but not of, the Department of Children and Families. 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 Children and Families, 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 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 who shall include a representative of the Advocates for Children of New Jersey, a representative of the Family Success Institute, a representative of the Court Appointed Special Advocates of New Jersey, a representative of the New Jersey Council on Developmental Disabilities, a representative of the Center for Family Services, a representative of the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers, a representative of the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, a representative of a family success center; a representative of a faith-based organization, a community leader, a parent or guardian whose child is receiving services through the State’s child welfare system, a member who has background in physical or behavioral health care for children, and a member who is a mental health professional; and

(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 representative of a Promise Neighborhood program, two public members appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly, one of who shall be a representative of county government, and one of whom shall be a representative of the United Way of New Jersey.

c. Vacancies in the membership of the council shall be filled in the same manner provided for the original appointments. The public members of the council shall serve without compensation but may be reimbursed for traveling and other miscellaneous expenses necessary to perform their duties, within the limits of funds made available to the council for its 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 a chairperson and vice-chairperson from among the members.

The chairperson shall appoint a secretary who need not be a member of the council.

e. The council may meet at the call of its chair 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 agency as it may require and as may be available to it for its purposes. The council shall be entitled to call on the assistance of 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 Department of Children and Families shall provide staff services to the council.

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 children 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 child, youth, and family well-being.

b. (1) In order to implement the Statewide initiative, the council shall:

(a) develop a Children’s Bill of Rights, based on the United Nations International Treaty on the Rights of Children, which shall provide a framework for the initiative’s implementation;

(b) conduct a comprehensive study identifying policies, procedures, practices, and financial priorities relating to preventive services for at-risk children and families and the gaps in those policies, procedures, practices, and financial priorities, and promotes the well-being of children and youth, and encourages 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 department of State government or community-based organizations, as appropriate, and make recommendations that will enable them to better coordinate and improve the effectiveness of such programs, policies, and initiatives;

(d) conduct ongoing, comprehensive cost benefit analyses of all State department and community-based organization budgets, and State and local funding mechanisms for the child welfare system to identify and make recommendations on how to redirect resources and programmatic focus from distress services to preventive services for at-risk child and families and for family success initiatives;

(e) explore strategies to maximize and effectively utilize all State, county, municipal, and federal funding sources, and business and philanthropic investments available for the purpose of providing preventive services to at-risk children and families and to improve family success outcomes; and

(f) establish community recovery and family success councils in each county of the State. The councils shall:

(i) assess local children and youth demographics, including age, gender, race, socio-economic status, and ethnicity, and indicators of well-being;

(ii) collect and analyze information concerning current services and resources available, the cost and availability of services and programs, and the met and unmet needs of at-risk children and families; and

(iii) develop recommendations on methods that support innovative preventive services for at-risk children and families and the development of local family success initiatives.

(2) The goal of the Statewide initiative shall be to:

(a) promote positive family relationships, community connections, and preventive services to ensure financial security quality education, good health, safety, permanency, and well-being of children 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 outcome 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 children 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 children 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 Departments of Children and Families, Community Affairs, Corrections, Education, Health, Human Services, Labor and Workforce Development, and Law and Public Safety, and any other department of State government or community-based organization, on the development of a plan to design, strengthen, or implement local family success initiatives.

c. All departments and agencies of the State and 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.

d. As used in this act, “distress services” means services intended to remediate circumstances, including but not limited to, educational, social, and parental failures, and family crises, that endanger the safety, permanency, health and well-being of children and “preventive services” means services that promote the safety, permanency, health, and well-being of children and their families and divert the need for crisis-related services.

4. The council shall submit an annual report to the Governor and the Legislature, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), on recommendations for legislative and administrative actions regarding the Statewide investments of federal, State, county, municipal, and business and philanthropic investments to support the development and implementation of innovative family success initiatives and preventive services for at-risk children and families.

5. The council and the Department of Children and Families 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 $1,800,000 from the General Fund the Department of Children and Families to implement the provisions this act.

7. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill establishes a 25-member Council for Community Recovery and Family Success in, but not of, the Department of Children and Families. The purpose of the council is to guide and oversee the development and implementation of a Statewide initiative focusing on the social and economic well-being of children and families and the provision of holistic, age and developmentally appropriate services to support a child’s development from birth to young adulthood.

The membership of the council will include the Commissioners of Children and Families, Community Affairs, Corrections, Education, Health, Human Services, 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, with 13 appointed by the Governor and two each to be appointed by the Senate President and the Speaker of the General Assembly. The public members appointed by the Governor will include representatives of various organizations that advocate for, or provide services to, at-risk children and youth and their parents.

In order to implement the Statewide initiative, the council is to:

(1) develop a Children’s Bill of Rights, based on the United Nations International Treaty on the Rights of Children, which shall provide a framework for the initiative’s implementation; (2) conduct a comprehensive study identifying policies, procedures, practices, and financial priorities relating to preventive services for at-risk children and families and the gaps in those policies, procedures, practices, and financial priorities, and promotes the well-being of children and youth, and encourages family success; (3) 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 other State departments or community-based organizations, as appropriate, and make recommendations that will enable them to better coordinate and improve the effectiveness of such programs, policies, and initiatives; (4) conduct ongoing, comprehensive cost benefit analyses of all State department and community-based organization budgets, and State and local funding mechanisms for the child welfare system to identify and make recommendations on how to redirect resources and programmatic focus from distress services to preventive services for at-risk child and families and family success initiatives; (5) explore strategies to maximize and effectively utilize all State, county, municipal, and federal funding sources, and business and philanthropic investments available for the purpose of providing preventive services to at-risk children and families and to improve family success outcomes; and (6) establish community recovery and family success councils in each county of the State that will: assess local children and youth demographics, including age, gender, race, socio-economic status, and ethnicity, and indicators of well-being; collect and analyze information concerning current services and resources available, the cost and availability of services and programs, and the met and unmet needs of at-risk children and families; and develop recommendations on methods that support innovative preventive services for at-risk children and families and the development of local family success initiatives.

The goal of the Statewide initiative established by the council will be to: (1) promote positive family relationships, community connections, and preventive services to ensure financial security quality education, good health, safety, permanency, and well-being of children and families through an integrated service planning and delivery system of care; (2) develop and recommend the adoption of community-informed family success outcomes, including specified performance based outcome measures and objectives; (3) identify obstacles that impede or prevent family success and develop strategies to successfully overcome such obstacles (4) explore the role of institutional racism and bias in the delivery of services to at-risk children and families, and how racism and bias can impede or prevent family success; (5) identify policies and practices that promote the delivery of preventive services to at-risk children and families and encourage family success; and (6) incorporate input from key stakeholders, including parents, family members, community members, and children receiving preventive services from the Departments of Children and Families, Community Affairs, Corrections, Education, Health, Human Services, Labor and Workforce Development, and Law and Public Safety, and other State departments or community-based organizations, on the development of a plan to design, strengthen, or implement local family success initiatives.

All State departments and agencies and community-based organizations that provide relevant distress or preventive services, maintain relevant data sets, or perform functions pertinent to these programs will be required to assist the council in its responsibilities under the bill.

As used in the bill, “distress services” means services intended to remediate circumstances, including but not limited to, educational, social, and parental failures, and family crises, that endanger the safety, permanency, health and well-being of children and “preventive services” means services that promote the safety, permanency, health, and well-being of children and their families and divert the need for crisis-related services.

The council is to submit an annual report to the Governor and the Legislature, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), on recommendations for legislative and administrative actions regarding the Statewide investments of federal, State, county, municipal, and business and philanthropic investments to support the development and implementation of innovative family success initiatives and preventive services for at-risk children and families.

The bill appropriates $1,800,000 from the General Fund to the Department of Children and Families to implement the provisions the bill.