ASSEMBLY, No. 1685

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

215th LEGISLATURE

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2012 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman  GORDON M. JOHNSON

District 37 (Bergen)

SYNOPSIS

     Directs Department of Corrections to provide employment assistance to inmates prior to release.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

     Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel

An Act concerning transitional services for inmates and supplementing Title 30 of the Revised Statutes.

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

     1.    No less than 30 days before an inmate in a State correctional facility is scheduled for parole or release, the Department of Corrections, working in conjunction with the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, shall provide the inmate with a list of employers willing to hire former offenders and assist the inmate in contacting the appropriate One Stop Career Center to initiate, prior to the inmate’s release, such personal assessments, counseling, career exploration, job coaching, and job readiness activities as may be appropriate and necessary to aid the inmate in securing a job upon release.

     The Department of Corrections, through its Office of Transitional Services, shall assist inmates in scheduling post release job interviews with those employers.

     2.    This act shall take effect on the first day of the third month following enactment.

STATEMENT

     This bill directs the Department of Corrections, working in conjunction with the Department of Labor and Workforce, to establish a program that would provide State inmates with a list of employers who have expressed a willingness to hire ex-offenders prior to their release.

     Under the provisions of the bill, the Department of Corrections is required to provide this information to an inmate at least 30 days prior to the inmate’s scheduled parole or release date.  In addition, the department is to assist the inmate in contacting the appropriate One Stop Career Center to initiate, prior to the inmate’s release, such personal assessments, counseling, career exploration, job coaching, and job readiness activities as may be appropriate and necessary to aid the inmate in securing a job upon release.

     The bill also provides that the Office of Transitional Services in the Department of Corrections shall assist inmates in scheduling post release job interviews with those employers.