Bill Text: NJ A4875 | 2018-2019 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Directs New Jersey State Rehabilitation Council to conduct study to identify trends and gaps in employment of individuals with disabilities.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-01-15 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Human Services Committee [A4875 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2018-A4875-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman JOANN DOWNEY
District 11 (Monmouth)
Assemblyman ERIC HOUGHTALING
District 11 (Monmouth)
Assemblywoman CAROL A. MURPHY
District 7 (Burlington)
SYNOPSIS
Directs New Jersey State Rehabilitation Council to conduct study to identify trends and gaps in employment of individuals with disabilities.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning trends and gaps in employment of individuals with disabilities in New Jersey.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The Legislature finds and declares that:
a. Employment plays an important role in the lives of working age New Jerseyans. Work is not just a source of income, but for many residents of the State it is part of who they are as individuals. For individuals with disabilities, employment is also an avenue for engaging in meaningful social relationships, for expressing skills, and a critical component of community integration.
b. For most of the nation's history, individuals with disabilities have faced a wide array of barriers that have made it difficult for them to both compete for and gain access to competitive, integrated employment.
c. National studies demonstrate that individuals with disabilities want to work; however, their participation in the labor force is marginal. Less than 40 percent of individuals with disabilities are employed in New Jersey, compared to an employment rate of about 80 percent for the general population.
d. Individuals with disabilities are among the neediest populations in New Jersey. Many have demonstrated the capacity to do competitive work when given the opportunity.
e. The employment gap of individuals with disabilities compared to individuals without disabilities and the increasing need among these individuals warrant further study that includes taking a broad view of vocational training and support programs across the State to determine possible solutions to close the employment gap.
2. a. There is established, in the New Jersey State Rehabilitation Council, a task force to identify: (1) all vocational training, support programs, and employment incentives, as well as vocational training in special education programs across the State for individuals with disabilities; and (2) trends and gaps in employment of individuals with disabilities. The task force shall make recommendations on agency structure, funding, public-private partnerships, priority programs, and gaps in services for individuals with disabilities.
b. The task force shall include one representative of each of the following agencies: the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, the Department of Education, the Department of Human Services, the Office of the Secretary of Higher Education, and the Chief Diversity Officer in the Department of the Treasury, and eight members appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate as follows: two members representing businesses or organizations which participate in apprenticeship programs; two members representing labor organizations which participate in apprenticeship programs; two members representing community-based or other advocacy organizations which address issues of discrimination; and two members of the public representing individuals with disabilities. The appointments shall expire upon the submission of a report to the Governor and Legislature pursuant to subsection e. of this section.
c. The task force shall organize as soon as practicable, but not more than 90 days after the date of enactment of this act. The task force may meet and hold hearings at such places and times as it shall designate.
d. The members of the task force shall serve without compensation, but may be reimbursed for travel and other necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties, within the limits of funds appropriated or otherwise made available to the task force for its purposes.
e. Within one year of the effective date of this act, the task force shall submit a report of its study to the Governor, and to the Legislature pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1). The report shall include, but need not be limited to, accountability measures in the form of program evaluation of the study to collect employment data to determine the rates at which individuals with disabilities: (1) remain employed; (2) advance in the employment latter; and (3) report employment satisfaction.
3. This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire on the 30th day after the task force submits its written report pursuant to subsection e. of section 2 of this act.
STATEMENT
This bill would establish a temporary task force in the New Jersey State Rehabilitation Council to identify (1) all vocational training, support programs, and employment incentives, as well as vocational training in special education programs across the State for individuals with disabilities; and (2) trends and gaps in employment of individuals with disabilities, and to make recommendations on agency structure, funding, public-private partnerships, priority programs, and gaps in services for individuals with disabilities.
The task force would consist of an expert from each of the following agencies: the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, the Department of Education, the Department of Human Services, the Office of the Secretary of Higher Education, and the Chief Diversity Officer in the Department of the Treasury; and would also consist of eight members appointed by the Governor: two members representing businesses or organization which participate in apprenticeship programs, two members representing labor organizations which participate in apprenticeship programs, two members representing community-based or other advocacy organizations which address issues of discrimination, and two members of the public representing individuals with disabilities.
Members would serve without compensation, but may be reimbursed for travel and other necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties. Under the bill, within one year of the effective date, the task force must submit a report of its study to the Governor, and to the Legislature.
