Bill Text: NJ S2224 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires DCF and DOE to establish policies and procedures relating to child abuse and neglect and child abuse prevention during certain public health emergencies.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-09 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee [S2224 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-S2224-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator M. TERESA RUIZ
District 29 (Essex and Hudson)
Senator JOSEPH F. VITALE
District 19 (Middlesex)
SYNOPSIS
Requires DCF and DOE to establish policies and procedures relating to child abuse and neglect and child abuse prevention during certain public health emergencies.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning child abuse and neglect and supplementing Title 9 of the Revised Statutes and 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 Department of Children and Families shall establish policies and procedures to detect and investigate incidents of child abuse and neglect and to promote child abuse prevention techniques that shall be employed for the duration of each public health emergency declared pursuant to P.L.2005, c.222 (C.26:13-1 et seq.) that necessitates the use of social distancing and other restrictions on person-to-person contact.
b. The policies and procedures established pursuant to subsection a. of this section shall include, but shall not be limited to, policies and procedures:
(1) publicizing the Department of Children and Family's State Central Registry, the toll free hotline number used in reporting child abuse and neglect, as well as the provision of instructions for calling 911 for emergencies, and directions to assist the public in accessing the department's website and social media platforms to obtain more information on reporting child abuse and neglect;
(2) allowing a child protective investigator assigned to investigate an incident of child abuse and neglect to perform some of the investigator's responsibilities, if appropriate, remotely by telephone, computer, or other means of live audio or video communication;
(3) allowing a permanency worker assigned to a child under the department's care, custody, and supervision to provide case management services, if appropriate, remotely by telephone, computer, or other means of live audio or video communication;
(4) allowing the family of a child under the department's care, custody, and supervision to access services remotely by telephone, computer, or other means of live audio or video communication, as may be appropriate;
(5) providing for the preparation and dissemination of literature and other resource materials by the department, utilizing both electronic and print media, which:
(a) inform parents of factors that contribute to incidents of child abuse and neglect and the legal ramifications of abusing or neglecting a child;
(b) outline the services provided by the State which help in preventing child abuse and neglect;
(c) provide tips on child safety; and
(d) reinforce positive parenting skills; and
(6) providing for the regular review and analysis, by the department, of the State's child abuse reporting requirements pursuant to section 3 of P.L.1971, c.437 (C.9:6-8.10) as may be necessary in order for the department to develop and implement strategies to better detect and investigate incidents of child abuse and neglect during public health emergencies that require social distancing or other restrictions on person-to person contact.
c. The Department of Children and Families shall be authorized to employ the policies and procedures itemized in subsection b. of this section according to the specific circumstances of an existing public health emergency, provided that the department addresses the deficiencies presented by the existing public health emergency regarding child abuse detection, investigation, and prevention.
d. The Department of Children and Families, in consultation with the Department of Education, shall establish a public awareness campaign to inform the general public about:
(1) protecting children from child abuse and neglect during public health emergencies that require social distancing, remote learning, and other restrictions on person-to-person contact; and
(2) the policies and procedures established pursuant to the provisions of this section and section 2 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
e. The Department of Children and Families shall prepare a fact sheet on the information provided through the public awareness campaign established pursuant to subsection d. of this section. The department shall make the fact sheet available to the public by electronic or other means of distribution, and shall post the fact sheet on its Internet website and the Internet websites of the Departments of Education, Health, and Human Services.
2. a. The Department of Children and Families shall collect and analyze data on all records of child abuse reports made during the public health emergency declared in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, including, but not limited to:
(1) reports made pursuant to section 3 of P.L.1971, c.437 (C.9:6-8.10);
(2) reports received pursuant to section 20 of P.L.1974, c.119 (C.9:6-8.40); and
(3) all reports of findings forwarded to the child abuse registry pursuant to section 4 of P.L.1971, c.437 (C.9:6-8.11).
b. No later than one year after the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), the Commissioner of Children and Families shall issue a report to the Governor and, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), to the Legislature, which report shall: (1) contain a summary of the data compiled by the department pursuant to subsection a. of this section; and (2) include comparative information about child abuse reports made during the COVID-19 pandemic and child abuse reports made prior to the pandemic. The report shall also include any recommendations for legislation or regulatory changes in the reporting of cases of child abuse and neglect during a public health emergency requiring social distancing or other restrictions on person-to-person contact as the commissioner deems appropriate.
3. a. The Department of Education and the Department of Children and Families shall develop an online training program for school employees on the detection and prevention of child abuse, inclusive of how to do so during a public health emergency that requires remote learning, social distancing, or other restrictions on person-to-person contact. The online training program shall be made available to all school districts in the State, free of charge, to assist districts in meeting all requirements established under State law to train school employees on the identification, detection, reporting, and response to issues of child abuse. The training program shall:
(1) be developed by the Department of Education and the Department of Children and Families, in consultation with education and private entities with expertise in the detection of child abuse and neglect as well as child abuse and neglect prevention techniques; and
(2) include, but not be limited to, information on the signs of child abuse and neglect, how to assess the safety of a child, and in what ways the signs can be detected and a child safety assessment can be conducted in person and virtually.
b. The Department of Education, in consultation with the Department of Children and Families, shall require every school district in the State, during a public health emergency that requires remote learning, social distancing, or other restrictions on person-to-person contact, to:
(1) allow students and their families to remotely access, by telephone, computer, or other means of live audio or video communication, information about the Department of Children and Families' Family Helpline and other telephone hotlines that offer peer support, clinical, or counseling services to children who are at risk of child abuse or neglect and their families; and
(2) provide a behavioral health assessment, remotely by telephone, computer, or other means of live audio or video communication, to every student who is deemed at-risk of child abuse or neglect as determined by a school psychologist, school counselor, or school social worker.
4. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill requires the Department of Children and Families (DCF) to establish policies and procedures to detect and investigate incidents of child abuse and neglect and to promote child abuse prevention techniques that are to be employed for the duration of any public health emergency declared pursuant to P.L.2005, c.222 (C.26:13-1 et seq.) that necessitates restrictions on person-to-person contact.
The policies and procedures are to include, but not be limited to: (1) publicizing the DCF's State Central Registry, as well as other information on reporting child abuse and neglect; (2) allowing certain child protective investigators and permanency workers to perform duties, if appropriate, remotely; (4) allowing the family of a child under the department's care, custody, and supervision to access services remotely, if appropriate; (5) providing for the preparation and dissemination of resource materials prepared by the department regarding child abuse and neglect; and (6) providing for the regular review and analysis of the State's child abuse reporting requirements. The bill authorizes the department to employ these policies and procedures according to the specific circumstances of an existing public health emergency, provided that the department addresses the deficiencies presented by the existing public health emergency regarding child abuse detection, investigation, and prevention.
Under the bill, the DCF, in consultation with the Department of Education (DOE), is required to establish a public awareness campaign regarding the protection of children from abuse and neglect during public health emergencies that require restrictions on person-to-person contact; and the policies and procedures established under the bill. The bill also requires the DCF to prepare a fact sheet on the information provided through the public awareness campaign, and to make the fact sheet available in various electronic locations.
The DCF is to collect and analyze data on all records of child abuse reports made during the public health emergency declared in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic and issue a report, no later than one year after the effective date of the bill, to the Governor and the Legislature.
The bill requires the DOE and the DCF to develop an online training program for school employees on the detection and prevention of child abuse, inclusive of how to do so during a public health emergency that requires restrictions on person-to-person contact. The online training program is to be made available to all school districts in the State, free of charge, to assist school employees on the identification, detection, reporting, and response to issues of child abuse.
The DOE, in consultation with the DCF, is also to require every school district in the State, during a public health emergency that requires restrictions on person-to-person contact, to: (1) allow students and their families to remotely access information about the DCF's Family Helpline and other similar telephone hotlines; and (2) remotely provide a behavioral health assessment to every student who is deemed at-risk of child abuse or neglect as determined by a school psychologist, school counselor, or school social worker.
