Sponsored by:
Senator SANDRA B. CUNNINGHAM
District 31 (Hudson)
Senator BRIAN P. STACK
District 33 (Hudson)
SYNOPSIS
Requires the installation of visual monitoring systems in licensed child care centers.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning child care centers and supplementing P.L.1983, c.492 (C.30:5B-1 et seq.).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. The owner or operator of a licensed child care center shall install a centrally supervised visual monitoring system in the center to observe every room or area designed for, or used by, children. The system shall not be installed in or used to monitor the kitchen or bathroom facilities of the center, or to directly supervise children from another room or area of the center.
b. Prior to the installation of the visual monitoring system pursuant to subsection a. of this section, every person employed by, and each parent of a child attending, the child care center shall be informed by the center's owner or operator, in writing and orally, of the:
(1) proposed installation of the system;
(2) system's intended use; and
(3) system's location within the center.
c. Any recorded image produced in connection with a visual monitoring system shall be retained for thirty days, following which the image shall be destroyed.
d. As used in this section, "visual monitoring system" means a system with one or more cameras and computers capable of reproducing live digital and recorded video images of a person with sufficient clarity to facilitate visual identification and to promote maximum visibility in the rooms where the system is installed.
2. The Department of Children and Families, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), shall adopt rules and regulations necessary to effectuate the purposes of this act.
3. This act shall take effect on the first day of the sixth month next following enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill requires an owner or operator of a licensed child care center to install a centrally supervised visual monitoring system in the center to observe every room or area designed for, or used by, children. The system would not be installed in or used to monitor kitchen or bathroom facilities, or to directly supervise children from another room or area of the center.
Prior to the installation of the visual monitoring system, every person employed by, and each parent of a child attending, the child care center would be informed by the center's owner or operator, in writing and orally, of the: proposed installation of the system; system's intended use; and system's location within the center.
Any recorded image produced in connection with a visual monitoring system would be retained for 30 days after the image is recorded. After the 30 days, the image would be destroyed.
As used in the bill, "visual monitoring system" means a system with one or more cameras and computers capable of reproducing live digital and recorded video images of a person with sufficient clarity to facilitate visual identification and to promote maximum visibility in the rooms where the system is installed.