Bill Text: NJ S2569 | 2018-2019 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes screening and assessment tool to identify exploitation and trauma experienced by victims of predatory alienation.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-05-14 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee [S2569 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2018-S2569-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator ANTHONY R. BUCCO
District 25 (Morris and Somerset)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes screening and assessment tool to identify exploitation and trauma experienced by victims of predatory alienation.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning predatory alienation and supplementing Title 9 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. A teacher, law enforcement official, member of the clergy, social worker, pediatrician, family practice physician, other health care professional licensed pursuant to Title 45 of the Revised Statues, a health care facility that serves children and young adults and is licensed pursuant to P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-1 et seq.), or a community-based organization that provides services to children and young adults, as appropriate, shall screen every child and young adult who may be vulnerable to predatory alienation for signs of exploitation and trauma experienced by a victim of the alienation.
b. The Director of the Children's System of Care in the Department of Children and Families shall develop standards for screening children and young adults pursuant to subsection a. of this section. The standards shall, at a minimum, provide for the:
(1) evaluation, identification, and assessment, of children and young adults who may be vulnerable to predatory alienation and the exploitation and trauma that may result from the alienation;
(2) education of families, children, and young adults about predatory alienation, the patterns of behavior, grooming practices, and tactics used by perpetrators of predatory alienation, and how to recognize the signs of victimization; and
(3) establishment of linkages between State, local, and community-based mental health agencies, hospital-based mental health services, law enforcement agencies, schools, houses of worship, social workers, pediatricians, family practice physicians, other licensed health care professionals, and health care facilities to ensure timely and effective access to needed services specific to victims of predatory alienation.
c. As used in this section, "predatory alienation" means a person's extreme undue influence on, or coercive persuasion or psychologically damaging manipulation of, another person that results in physical or emotional harm, disrupts a parent-child relationship, leads to a deceptive or exploitative relationship, or isolates the person from family and friends.
2. The Director of the Children's System of Care shall adopt, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), rules and regulations necessary for the implementation of this act.
3. This act shall take
effect on the first day of the sixth month next following enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill requires teachers, law enforcement officials, members of the clergy, social workers, pediatricians, family practice physicians, other health care professionals licensed pursuant to Title 45 of the Revised Statues, health care facilities that serve children and young adults and are licensed pursuant to P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-1 et seq.), or community-based organizations that provide services to children and young adults, as appropriate, to screen children and young adults who may be vulnerable to predatory alienation for signs of exploitation and trauma experienced by a victim of the alienation.
As used in the bill, "predatory alienation" means a person's extreme undue influence on, or coercive persuasion or psychologically damaging manipulation of, another person that results in physical or emotional harm, disrupts a parent-child relationship, leads to a deceptive or exploitative relationship, or isolates the person from family and friends.
The Director of the Children's System of Care in the Department of Children and Families would be required to develop standards for screening children and young adults pursuant to the bill. The standards would, at a minimum, provide for the: evaluation, identification, and assessment, of children and young adults who may be vulnerable to predatory alienation and the exploitation and trauma that may result from the alienation; education of families, children, and young adults about predatory alienation, the patterns of behavior, grooming practices, and tactics used by perpetrators of predatory alienation, and how to recognize the signs of victimization; and establishment of linkages between law enforcement agencies, schools, houses of worship, State, local, and community-based mental health agencies, hospital-based mental health services, and pediatricians, family practice physicians, other licensed health care professionals, and health care facilities to ensure timely and effective access to needed services specific to victims of predatory alienation.
Although predatory alienation is not a mainstream term, there are specific actions that define situations where alienation and predatory behaviors are used to victimize children and young adults. In most cases, the primary goal of predatory alienation is the exploitation of and control over the victim for another motive such as human trafficking, sexual predation, or group recruitment for religious sects, gangs, or extremist groups.
Currently, resources and
service provision for victims of predatory alienation are not specific to the
type of exploitation and trauma victims experience. The development of a
screening and assessment tool to identify exploitation and trauma experienced
by children and young adults who may be vulnerable to predatory
alienation would facilitate the identification of, and timely and effective referral
to appropriate services for, victims of predatory alienation.
