Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman ANGELA V. MCKNIGHT
District 31 (Hudson)
Assemblywoman VERLINA REYNOLDS-JACKSON
District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)
Assemblywoman SHANIQUE SPEIGHT
District 29 (Essex)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman Conaway
SYNOPSIS
Requires State, county, and municipal social service workers to periodically complete implicit bias and cultural competency training.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning implicit bias and cultural competency training for State, county, and municipal social service workers and supplementing chapter 9 of Title 40A of the New Jersey Statutes and chapter 13D of Title 52 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. The Department of Labor and Workforce Development shall provide an online tutorial on implicit bias and cultural competency for all county and municipal social service workers in the State. Each county and municipal social service worker shall complete the tutorial no later than April 1 of every even-numbered year. Each county board of social services and municipal council shall submit a certification to the Department of Labor and Workforce Development for their respective social service workers that they have completed the online tutorial. Each county board of social services and municipal council shall be responsible for all social service workers within the agencies, divisions, commissions, boards, entities, and other instrumentalities under the auspices of the county or the municipality in certifying the completion of the online tutorial. The certification shall be public information.
b. In addition to the tutorial, all county and municipal social service workers in the State shall participate in annual implicit bias and cultural competency training as directed by the respective county board of social services or municipal governing body. The county board of social services or municipal governing body shall also direct the process by which completion of the training is verified. The county board of social services or municipal governing body shall file the verification with the Department of Labor and Workforce Development. The verification shall be public information.
c. For the purposes of this section:
“Implicit bias” means a bias in judgment or behavior that results from subtle cognitive processes, including implicit prejudice and implicit stereotypes, that often operate at a level below conscious awareness and without intentional control.
“Implicit stereotypes” means the unconscious attributions of particular qualities to a member of a certain social group, influenced by experience, and based on learned associations between various qualities and social categories, including race and gender.
“Cultural competency” means the ability to understand, appreciate, and interact with people from different cultures or belief systems.
“Social service worker” means an individual who works for a county or a municipality and helps provide support and services to individuals and families such as, but not limited to, cash assistance to families and adults, child support services, emergency assistance and employment support activities, food assistance, housing services, or healthcare enrollment assistance.
2. a. The Department of Labor and Workforce Development shall provide an online tutorial on implicit bias and cultural competency for all State social service workers in the State. Each State social service worker shall complete the tutorial no later than April 1 of every even-numbered year. Each department head, including the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development, shall submit a certification to the Department of Labor and Workforce Development for themselves and for all their respective social service workers that they have completed the online tutorial. Each department head shall be responsible for all social service workers within the agencies, divisions, commissions, boards, entities, and other instrumentalities under the auspices of the department in certifying the completion of the online tutorial. The certification shall be public information.
b. In addition to the tutorial, all State social service workers shall participate in annual implicit bias and cultural competency training as directed by their department head. A department head shall also direct the process by which completion of the training is verified. A department head shall file the verification with the Department of Labor and Workforce Development. The verification shall be public information.
c. For the purposes of this section:
“Implicit bias” means a bias in judgment or behavior that results from subtle cognitive processes, including implicit prejudice and implicit stereotypes, that often operate at a level below conscious awareness and without intentional control.
“Implicit stereotypes” means the unconscious attributions of particular qualities to a member of a certain social group, influenced by experience, and based on learned associations between various qualities and social categories, including race and gender.
“Cultural competency” means the ability to understand, appreciate, and interact with people from different cultures or belief systems.
“Department head” means an executive or administrative head of the State’s executive branch departments.
“Social service worker” means an individual who works for the State and helps provide support and services to individuals and families such as, but not limited to, cash assistance to families and adults, child support services, emergency assistance and employment support activities, food assistance, housing services, or healthcare enrollment assistance.
3. This act shall take effect one year following enactment, but the Department of Labor and Workforce Development and counties and municipalities may take any anticipatory action in advance of that date as may be necessary for the timely implementation of this act.
STATEMENT
This bill requires implicit bias and cultural competency training for all State, county, and municipal social service workers. Implicit bias is a bias in judgment or behavior that results from subtle cognitive processes, including implicit prejudice and implicit stereotypes, that often operate at a level below conscious awareness and without intentional control. Cultural competency is the ability to understand, appreciate, and interact with people from different cultures or belief systems.
The bill requires social service workers to complete the online tutorial by April 1 of every even-numbered year and to participate in training annually. The bill mandates that certain certifications and verifications be communicated to the Department of Labor and Workforce Development and such communications will be considered public information.
Every day, State, county, and municipal social service workers make decisions that impact people of all backgrounds and cultures. In doing this important work, it is critical for all of these individuals to understand their own biases as well as cultures and belief systems different from their own.