S4023

An Act requiring the Victims of Crimes Compensation Office to provide certain emergency assistance to victims of crime and establish a hotline, amending P.L.1981, c.256, and supplementing Title 52 of the Revised Statutes.

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

1. (New section) a. The Victims of Crime Compensation Office shall make available, within the limits of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available to the office, emergency assistance to victims of crime or their family members. Upon the request of a victim or family member, a properly trained employee of the office shall be dispatched to the hospital or other place of emergency care to assist the victim or family member in obtaining resources from the office and completing the application process.

b. The office shall establish a mechanism, by means of a 24-hour toll-free telephone hotline and electronic mail, through which victims of crime or their family members may request emergency assistance required pursuant to subsection a. of this section.

c. Information to be disseminated through the hotline or electronic mail to a victim or family member shall include but not be limited to:

(1) a summary of resources offered by the office to victims of crime;

(2) the availability of emergency awards pursuant to section 9 of P.L.1981, c.258 (C.52:4B-10.1); and

(3) the availability of an employee of the office to be dispatched to the location of the victim to provide emergency assistance pursuant to subsection a. of this section upon request.

d. The availability of the hotline and electronic mail established in this section shall be included in the information required to be disseminated pursuant to section 1 of P.L.1981, c.256 (C.52:4B-22).

2. Section 1 of P.L.1981, c.256 (C.52:4B-22) is amended to read as follows:

1. a. [Every State, county, and municipal police department and hospital or other place of emergency medical care shall have available and shall post in a public place information] The Victims of Crime Compensation Office shall supply information booklets, pamphlets, or other pertinent written information[, to be supplied by the Victims of Crime Compensation Agency,] relating to the availability of crime victims' compensation, including all necessary application blanks required to be filed with the [agency] office, and shall post or disseminate this information in a public place in every:

(1) State, county, and municipal police department;

(2) courtroom in each county courthouse and municipal court; and

(3) hospital or other place of emergency care including, but not limited to, every emergency department of a general hospital and every satellite emergency department licensed pursuant to P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-1 et seq.).

b. Included in the information supplied by the [Victims of Crime Compensation Agency] office shall be information for victims of sexual offenses. This information shall contain the location of rape crisis centers in all geographical areas throughout the State and shall instruct victims of sexual offenses that if a rape crisis center is not available in a victim's immediate geographical area, the victim may contact the appropriate county victim-witness coordinator appointed by the Chief of the Office of Victim-Witness Advocacy established pursuant to P.L.1985, c.404 (C.52:4B-39 et seq.). The information shall also provide that victims will not be charged any fee for services that are directly associated with a forensic sexual assault examination, including routine medical screening, medications for prophylaxis of sexually transmitted infections, pregnancy tests, emergency contraception, supplies, equipment, and use of space.

Unless the victim requires immediate medical attention, this information shall be personally conveyed to the victim of a sexual offense by a representative of the hospital or place of emergency care before a medical examination of the victim is conducted, or by a representative of the police department before the victim's statement is taken, to afford the victim the opportunity to arrange to have assistance from the rape crisis center or county victim-witness coordinator during these procedures. Hospitals shall be held harmless from suits emanating from a hospital's carrying out the obligation to convey information to victims of sexual offenses.

"Rape crisis center" means an office, institution or center offering assistance to victims of sexual offenses through crisis intervention, medical and legal information, and follow-up counseling.

c. Every police department shall, upon the filing of a report of a violent crime, make available to any victim information concerning crime victims' compensation.

d. The office shall include in the information supplied to victims of crime pursuant to this section the availability of emergency assistance from an employee of the office at the hospital or other place of emergency care and the hotline and electronic mail established for the purpose of requesting this assistance pursuant to section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).

(cf: P.L.2011, c.106, s.1)

3. This act shall take effect on the first day of the seventh month next following enactment.

STATEMENT

This bill requires the Victims of Crime Compensation Office (VCCO) in the Department of Public Safety to offer emergency assistance to victims of crime and their family members.

Specifically, upon the request of a victim or family member, the bill requires a properly trained employee of the VCCO to be dispatched to the hospital or other emergency care facility to assist the victim or family member in obtaining resources from the VCCO and completing the application process.

To facilitate this emergency assistance, the bill requires the VCCO to maintain a 24-hour toll-free hotline and electronic mail to receive requests for assistance from victims of crime or their family members. The information to be disseminated through the hotline or electronic mail is to include: a summary of resources offered by the VCCO; the availability of emergency awards; and the availability of a trained VCCO employee to be dispatched to the location of the victim or family member to provide emergency assistance.

Information concerning the availability of the hotline and the electronic mail is to be made available at all State, county, and municipal police departments; courtrooms in county courthouses and municipal courts; and hospitals or other places of emergency care.