Bill Text: NJ S250 | 2022-2023 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Expands "Restorative and Transformative Justice for Youths and Communities Pilot Program" in Juvenile Justice Commission to include Jersey City; appropriates $2 million.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-05-19 - Referred to Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee [S250 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2022-S250-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
220th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2022 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator SANDRA B. CUNNINGHAM
District 31 (Hudson)
SYNOPSIS
Expands "Restorative and Transformative Justice for Youths and Communities Pilot Program" in Juvenile Justice Commission to include Jersey City; appropriates $2 million.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning the "Restorative and Transformative Justice for Youths and Communities Pilot Program" in the Juvenile Justice Commission and amending P.L.2021, c.196.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 3 of P.L.2021, c.196 is amended to read as follows:
3. There is established in the Juvenile Justice Commission, created by section 2 of P.L.1995, c.284 (C.52:17B-170), a two-year pilot program, titled the "Restorative and Transformative Justice for Youths and Communities Pilot Program." The purpose of the pilot program is to develop innovative restorative and transformative justice continuums of care in [four] five target cities that include two components: restorative justice hubs and community-based enhanced reentry wraparound services. The pilot program shall be established in the municipalities of Camden, Jersey City, Newark, Paterson, and Trenton.
a. The first component of the pilot program shall include restorative justice hubs. Each of the [four] five pilot program municipalities shall have one restorative justice hub.
b. The second component of the pilot program shall include community-based enhanced reentry wraparound services to be provided within each restorative justice hub. These services shall be designed as an emergency response for those young people being released from juvenile facilities due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and may also serve as a long-term program for all young people released from a facility. Community-based enhanced reentry wraparound services shall include, but not be limited to, the following services and supports:
(1) Mental health services;
(2) Substance use disorders treatment and recovery;
(3) Education support;
(4) Employment services;
(5) Housing support;
(6) Financial literacy and debt support services;
(7) Life skills support services;
(8) Social support services; and
(9) Preventative mentoring services.
c. The goals of the pilot program shall be:
(1) To increase participation in education, vocational programming, and employment. Youth participants in the pilot program shall receive academic support, depending on personal development goals, and shall be connected to secondary schools, alternative schools, vocational schools, apprenticeship programs and colleges and universities. The program shall collaborate with local community college's admissions and academic support programs, and offer workshops that include financial aid planning. Participants seeking employment shall be linked to vocational or job readiness training. The selected partner-providers participating in the pilot program shall be trained in and utilize evidence-based and evidence-informed practices with respect to the provision of their respective services;
(2) To increase participation in mental health and well-being programming. The program shall employ trauma-informed practices and connect youth to licensed outpatient mental health care facilities and professionals. The program shall create safe, caring environments to address physical health, mental health and substance use disorder conditions and facilitate healing for youth, families, and communities.
(3) To decrease incidents of harmful and unlawful behavior. The program shall work with youth to comply with their probation or parole plan, as applicable. Moreover, the program shall employ trauma-informed practices, violence reduction, and peacemaking supports and tools to address harmful and unlawful behavior;
(4) To have restorative justice hubs establish working relationships with local law enforcement agencies, courts, prosecutors, and defense attorneys to support the diversion of youth away from arrests and prosecution and towards participation in restorative justice services provided in the hubs;
(5) To improve the socioemotional and behavioral responses of youth within communities through the use of more appropriate, and less punitive, interventions, thereby establishing more restorative interventions; and
(6) To increase program participation rates in other restorative and transformative justice programs in the municipalities in which the pilot program is established.
(cf: P.L.2021, c.196, s.3)
2. Section 5 of P.L.2021, c.196 is amended to read as follows:
5. There is established within the General Fund a separate, temporary dedicated fund to be known as the "Restorative and Transformative Justice for Youths and Communities Pilot Program Fund," to be held separate and apart from all other funds of the State. This fund shall be administered and the monies in the fund distributed by the Juvenile Justice Commission. From the monies appropriated under the category of juvenile grants-in-aid for the Department of Law and Public Safety in State fiscal year 2022 and State fiscal year 2023 , [$4,200,000] $5,200,000 in each fiscal year shall be credited to this fund for a total of [$8,400,000] $10,400,000, and these monies, and any interest or other income earned thereon, shall only be used for purposes associated with the pilot program established by this act.
a. (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), to the contrary, the Juvenile Justice Commission, immediately upon filing with the Office of Administrative Law and within 120 days of the effective date of this act, shall adopt such rules and regulations as the commission deems necessary or proper to implement the provisions of this act including, but not limited to, setting the terms and conditions of applying for grants paid for by monies in the fund, the distribution of those monies, and for publishing these terms and conditions on its official website. The rules and regulations shall be effective during any interim period and may thereafter be amended, adopted, or readopted by the commission in accordance with the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.). The Juvenile Justice Commission also shall require: the Passaic County Youth Services Commission to schedule one public meeting in Paterson; the Essex County Youth Services Commission to schedule one public meeting in Newark; the Hudson County Youth Services Commission to schedule one public meeting in Jersey City; the Mercer County Youth Services Commission to schedule one public meeting in Trenton; and the Camden County Youth Services Commission to schedule one public meeting in Camden. These public meetings shall be held to announce the pilot program, and inform the public of the adopted rules and regulations for grant applications and distributions.
(2) The initial rules and regulations adopted pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection shall be in effect for the duration of the two-year pilot program, unless the commission determines it is necessary to amend or repeal any initial rule or regulation, which it may do on an expedited basis immediately upon filing proper notice with the Office of Administrative Law, notwithstanding the provisions of the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), to the contrary.
b. The fund shall be used to provide grants to participating service providers selected by the county youth services commissions through a competitive process pursuant to section 4 of P.L.2021, c.196 to develop and implement the pilot program established by this act. Priority in distributing monies in the fund shall be given to service providers located in the [four] five pilot municipalities and to service providers whose employees are representative of the communities to be served by the pilot program. Monies in the fund used to provide grants to develop and implement the pilot program shall be allocated equally among the [four] five county youth services commissions and distributed in accordance with rules and regulations adopted by the Juvenile Justice Commission .
c. No more than eight percent of the monies in the fund shall be used by the Juvenile Justice Commission for administrative purposes and no more than 15 percent of the monies in the fund shall be used by the county youth services commissions for administrative purposes.
d. Monies in the fund administered and distributed by the Juvenile Justice Commission shall not replace any other funds administered and distributed by the commission, including those administered and distributed through the State/Community Partnership Grant Program established pursuant to P.L.1995, c.283 (C.52:17B-179 et al.).
e. The pilot program shall operate for a period of two years, exclusive of the time required to implement the grant application and award process, and to initiate the pilot program. To the extent necessary, funding distributed to the pilot program shall be carried forward and used for its purposes regardless of whether the funds are expended in the same fiscal year in which the funds were initially distributed. At the conclusion of the two-year pilot program, any monies remaining in the fund shall be transferred to the Juvenile Justice Commission for use in administering the State/Community Partnership Grant Program established pursuant to P.L.1995, c.283 (C.52:17B-179 et al.), and funding grants distributed through that program.
(cf: P.L.2021, c.196, s.5)
3. This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire 30 days following the Juvenile Justice Commission's submission of the report to the Governor and Legislature as required by section 6 of P.L.2021, c.196).
STATEMENT
This bill expands the "Restorative and Transformative Justice for Youths and Communities Pilot Program" in the Juvenile Justice Commission (JJC) and makes an appropriation.
Legislation, enacted as P.L.2021, c.196 (the enactment), establishes the two-year Restorative and Transformative Justice for Youths and Communities Pilot Program in the JJC in four target cities: Camden, Newark, Paterson, and Trenton. The enactment also appropriates $8.4 million for implementation of the pilot program. This bill requires the pilot program also to be implemented in Jersey City and increases the appropriation by $2 million to fund the implementation of the program in Jersey City.
As provided in the enactment, the purpose of the pilot program is to assist with the reintegration of youths released from juvenile facilities and to help them avoid involvement with the youth justice system during the current public health crisis caused by the Coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, also referred to as the COVID-19 pandemic, and potentially beyond. The pilot program is to operate for a period of two years, exclusive of the time required to implement the grant application and award process established under the enactment, and to initiate the pilot program. The JJC is required to submit a report to the Governor and the Legislature at the conclusion of the pilot program, containing information on the development and implementation of the program and the feasibility of expanding the program to other municipalities in the State. The provisions of the enactment are to expire thirty days after the report is filed.
The program is to include two components: restorative justice hubs and community-based enhanced reentry wraparound services. Under the enactment, there is to be one restorative justice hub in each of the pilot municipalities. Each hub is to provide the restorative justice services and reentry wraparound services outlined in the enactment. The restorative justice hubs are required to establish working relationships with law enforcement, courts, prosecutors, and defense attorneys to support the diversion of youth away from arrests and prosecution and towards participation in restorative justice services.
The appropriate county youth services commissions would implement the existing request for proposal process in order to solicit proposals from interested persons and organizations.
Pursuant to the enactment, the pilot program is to be funded from the General Fund with $4,200,000 in State fiscal year 2022 and $4,200,000 in State fiscal year 2023 to be credited to a separate, temporary dedicated fund known as the "Restorative and Transformative Justice for Youths and Communities Pilot Program Fund." The fund is to be used to provide grants to participating service providers through a competitive process established under the enactment. Under the bill an additional $2 million, $1 million in State fiscal year 2022 and $1 million in State fiscal year 2023, is to be credited to the fund for costs associated with implementation of the program in Jersey City.
