ASSEMBLY, No. 2322
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
217th LEGISLATURE
INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 4, 2016
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman VALERIE VAINIERI HUTTLE
District 37 (Bergen)
Assemblyman TROY SINGLETON
District 7 (Burlington)
Assemblyman JAMEL C. HOLLEY
District 20 (Union)
Assemblywoman GABRIELA M. MOSQUERA
District 4 (Camden and Gloucester)
Assemblyman DANIEL R. BENSON
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
Assemblywoman CLEOPATRA G. TUCKER
District 28 (Essex)
Assemblyman BENJIE E. WIMBERLY
District 35 (Bergen and Passaic)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblywomen McKnight, Pinkin, Jones, Assemblymen Giblin, Chiaravalloti and Assemblywoman Lampitt
SYNOPSIS
Requires DCPP to implement policies and procedures to ensure caseworker safety; "Leah's Law."
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As reported by the Assembly Appropriations Committee on April 4, 2016, with amendments.
An Act concerning caseworker safety, designated as Leah's Law, and supplementing Title 30 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The Division of Child Protection and Permanency in the Department of Children and Families shall implement a caseworker safety intervention plan. The plan shall, at a minimum:
a. establish specific procedures to follow when a caseworker is faced with, and responding to, a situation that poses a threat to the safety and well-being of the caseworker, whether in the local office, in the field, or when making an emergency removal of a child;
b. specify when to request the assistance of the Human Services police officer assigned to the local office and how to initiate such requests; and
c. be posted in a conspicuous place in the local office and a copy of the plan shall be provided to every staff member assigned to that office.
2. a. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the Division of Child Protection and Permanency shall implement policies and procedures to ensure the safety of 1[every caseworker employed by the] all staff working at1 division 1offices1.
The policies and procedures shall address issues of safety in the event that a caseworker receives a threat of violence from a client or is presented with a potentially dangerous situation while working in a local office, investigating a report of child abuse or neglect in the field, or making an emergency removal of a child pursuant to section 8 of P.L.1974, c.119 (C.9:6-8.28).
b. In order to ensure the safety of a caseworker in a local office, the division shall require that:
(1) a Human Services police officer is assigned to every building where a local office is located to provide security and assistance to the caseworkers assigned to the office;
(2) each local office is equipped with a metal detector or metal detector wands to be operated by law enforcement officers;
(3) a panic button be installed in every meeting room in which a caseworker meets with a client; and
(4) at least one meeting room or conference room in each local office is equipped with a two-way mirror located to allow for the observation of the meeting or conference room by the Human Services police officer assigned to the office.
c. In order to ensure the safety of a caseworker while investigating a report of child abuse or neglect in the field or making an emergency removal of a child pursuant to section 8 of P.L.1974, c.119 (C.9:6-8.28), the division shall require that:
(1) a caseworker assigned to a home visit is accompanied by another caseworker if:
(a) a client or a member of the client's family has threatened or harassed the assigned caseworker in the past;
(b) the client or a member of the client's family has a history of violence either documented by a criminal record or by threats of violence against the division or a division employee; or
(c) the caseworker believes the home or the surrounding environment is unsafe;
(2) at the request of a caseworker or the caseworker's supervisor, the Human Services police officer assigned to the caseworker's local office accompanies and assists the caseworker when conducting an investigation or visit or when making an emergency removal; and
(3) the Human Services police officer assigned to a local office is available to a caseworker within 30 minutes of a request to accompany and assist a caseworker pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection, except that in an emergency situation, the officer shall be immediately available to accompany and assist the caseworker.
d. Nothing in paragraph (1) of subsection c. of this section shall be construed to prohibit the division, at the request of a caseworker or the caseworker's supervisor, from requiring that a Human Services police officer assigned to the caseworker's local office accompany or assist the caseworker while investigating a report of child abuse or neglect in the field or making an emergency removal of a child, if appropriate.
3. The Department of Children and Families shall adopt rules and regulations pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), to effectuate the purposes of this act.
4. Section 1 of this act shall take effect immediately, and section 2 shall take effect on the first day of the seventh month next following enactment except that the commissioner may take any anticipatory administrative action in advance as shall be necessary for the implementation of this act.