ASSEMBLY, No. 624

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 1996 SESSION

By Assemblymen IMPREVEDUTO and FELICE

An Act concerning criminal history record background checks and amending P.L.1988, c.45.

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

    1. Section 1 of P.L.1988, c.45 (C.30:4-3.4) is amended to read as follows:

    1. As used in this act:

    a. "Employee" means any individual 18 years of age or older who is employed at a facility and works at the facility for the equivalent of at least one seven hour day per week. Employee includes but is not limited to the facility's director or principal administrator, teaching, social service, dietary, clerical and maintenance staff [and] , the driver of a motor vehicle used to transport persons to and from the facility, a direct service worker who is responsible for providing services to developmentally disabled persons at a community-based center, and a person with whom a community-based center contracts to provide temporary or respite care to a developmentally disabled person.

    b. "Facility" means a State institution or facility for the mentally ill or the developmentally disabled, a community-based center which contracts with the Department of Human Services to provide for the care and supervision of developmentally disabled persons, or a private residence wherein a developmentally disabled person, in the care of a community-based center, is placed for temporary or respite care.

(cf: P.L.1988, c.45, s.1)

    2. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

    This bill amends section 1 of P.L.1988, c.45 (C.30:4-3.4), which requires criminal history record background checks for all current and prospective employees of any State facility or institution serving the mentally ill or developmentally disabled, to expand the definition of "facility" to include community-based centers that contract with the Department of Human Services to provide services for developmentally disabled persons. The definition is also amended to include private residences where a developmentally disabled person, in the care of a community-based center, may be placed for temporary or respite care.

Requires criminal history record background checks for certain individuals working with the developmentally disabled.