Bill Text: NJ A707 | 2010-2011 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires DHS and DHSS to provide information about federal and State benefits to persons providing kinship care.
Sponsorship: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-01-12 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Health and Senior Services Committee [A707 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2010-A707-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
214th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2010 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman SAMUEL D. THOMPSON
District 13 (Middlesex and Monmouth)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman Conaway
SYNOPSIS
Requires DHS and DHSS to provide information about federal and State benefits to persons providing kinship care.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
An Act concerning the provision of information to kinship care providers and supplementing Titles 26 and 30 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The Commissioner of Human Services, through the Kinship Navigator service in the Department of Human Services, shall ensure that information about, and eligibility criteria for, federal and State benefits, including, but not limited to, Social Security disability, Supplemental Security Income, food stamps, Work First New Jersey, Medicaid, the Children's Health Care Coverage Program, known as NJ KidCare, subsidized child care, and respite care is made available to kinship caregivers in the State. As used in this section, "kinship caregiver" means a person who provides care to a child of the person's relative.
2. The Commissioner of Health and Senior Services, in consultation with the Commissioner of Human Services and the Department of Human Services' Kinship Navigator service, shall include in the New Jersey Easy Access, Single Entry program, known as NJ EASE, information about, and eligibility criteria for, federal and State benefits that may be beneficial to senior citizens who are grandparents raising their grandchildren or who otherwise serve as kinship caregivers by providing care to the child of a relative. Information shall be provided for programs and benefits that include, but are not limited to, Social Security disability, Supplemental Security Income, food stamps, Work First New Jersey, Medicaid, the Children's Health Care Coverage Program, known as NJ KidCare, subsidized child care, and respite care.
3. This act shall take effect on the 60th day following enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill directs the Commissioner of Human Services, through the Kinship Navigator service in the Department of Human Services, to ensure that information about, and eligibility criteria for, federal and State benefits, including, but not limited to, Social Security disability, Supplemental Security Income, food stamps, Work First New Jersey, Medicaid, the Children's Health Care Coverage Program, known as NJ KidCare, subsidized child care, and respite care is made available to kinship care providers, that is, persons who provide care to a child of the person's relative.
The fiscal year 2000 annual appropriations act provides $500,000 to the Department of Human Services to create a help-line for kinship caregivers. The department initiated the Kinship Navigator service in January 2000. The provisions of this bill are intended to ensure that the Kinship Navigator service provides needed information to the State's kinship caregivers.
Since many of the kinship caregivers in the State are grandparents raising their grandchildren, the bill also directs the Commissioner of Health and Senior Services, in consultation with the Commissioner of Human Services and the Kinship Navigator service, to include in the NJ EASE program information about, and eligibility criteria for, these federal and State benefits that may be beneficial to senior citizens raising their grandchildren or who otherwise serve as kinship care providers to the children of relatives.
This bill is part of a package of bills that are based upon the findings and recommendations of the General Assembly Task Force on Grandparenting which issued its final report to the Speaker of the General Assembly in January 2000.
