Bill Text: NJ S4180 | 2026-2027 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes Commission on Black Women and Girls.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2)
Status: (Introduced) 2026-05-11 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee [S4180 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2026-S4180-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator BENJIE E. WIMBERLY
District 35 (Bergen and Passaic)
Senator ANGELA V. MCKNIGHT
District 31 (Hudson)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes Commission on Black Women and Girls.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act establishing the Commission on Black Women and Girls and supplementing Title 52 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. The "Commission on Black Women and Girls" is established. For the purposes of complying with the provisions of Article V, Section IV, paragraph 1 of the New Jersey Constitution, the commission is allocated within the Department of Children and Families, but, notwithstanding this allocation, the commission shall be independent of any supervision or control by the department or by any officer or employee thereof.
b. The commission shall be composed of 11 members as follows:
(1) the Commissioner of Health, ex officio, or a designee;
(2) the Director of the Division on Women in the Department of Children and Families, ex officio, or a designee;
(3) the Commissioner of Human Services, ex officio, or a designee;
(4) the Commissioner of Education, ex officio, or a designee;
(5) the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development, ex officio, or a designee;
(6) the Director of the Division on Civil Rights in the Department of Law and Public Safety, ex officio, or a designee;
(7) the Commissioner of Community Affairs, ex officio, or a designee;
(8) the Public Defender, ex officio, or a designee; and
(9) three public members who shall be appointed by the Governor. One member shall have a background in medical research. Two members shall be appointed from community-based organizations and have a background working on culturally specific issues unique to the needs of Black women and girls. The Governor shall make appointments to the commission within 30 days after the effective date of this act.
c. Each public member shall serve for a term of four years and until the appointment and qualification of a successor; except that, of the members first appointed, one shall be appointed for a two-year term, one shall be appointed for a three-year term, and one shall be appointed for a four-year term.
d. The commission shall organize within 60 days after the effective date of this act. The members shall annually elect one member to serve as chair. The chair may appoint a secretary, who need not be a member of the commission.
e. Vacancies on the commission shall be filled for the unexpired terms in the same manner as original appointments. Members of the commission shall be eligible for reappointment to the commission.
f. A member of the commission may be removed by the Governor only for good cause.
g. The members of the commission shall serve without compensation, but may be reimbursed for necessary and actual expenses incurred in the performance of their duties to the extent that funds are made available for that purpose.
h. The Division on Women in the Department of Children and Families shall provide stenographic, clerical, and other administrative assistance and professional staff as the commission requires to carry out its work.
i. All State, county, and municipal government entities shall provide information to the commission that the commission requests to carry out its duties under this act.
2. a. The commission shall identify and recommend programs, policies, and incentives related to education that State, county, or municipal governments may adopt with respect to the following:
(1) community-led education and support for Black girls in kindergarten through grade 12, including:
(a) social and emotional learning programs, including those that employ facilitators trained in identity-based dialogue;
(b) support for girls who have a parent or guardian who is incarcerated or has a substance use disorder;
(c) support for a college scholarship fund and programs to increase access to post-secondary education for Black children of incarcerated parents;
(d) classroom and after school empowerment programs for Black girls;
(e) community-led civic engagement and community organizing education;
(f) classroom and community-led art; theater; and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) learning centers;
(g) school-based and community-based programs that employ trained de-escalation professionals and eliminate the detention and incarceration of school-aged children;
(h) facilitating household access to school-based communication technologies;
(i) school-based or community-based restorative justice programs as an alternative to expulsion of girls from school;
(j) curriculum, tutoring, and activities support for homeschooling and virtual learning families; and
(k) school-based or community-based programs on comprehensive, age-appropriate, sexual health education, which teaches about consent and healthy relationships across the spectrum;
(2) community-led education for Black women, which includes information on:
(a) household access to data and communication technologies to narrow the digital divide and enhance access to higher education;
(b) emotional support trainings for Black mothers, parents, or other guardians on child development and behavioral and discipline management; and
(c) programs that support immigrant women, including English learning courses, citizenship preparation courses, and General Educational Development (GED) test courses;
(3) school-based and community-based restorative and transformative justice curriculums and spaces;
(4) prohibiting religious discrimination against Black Muslim girls in kindergarten through grade 12, including policies that:
(a) allow girls to wear cultural and religious garments at all times;
(b) excuse absences for Muslim girls during religious holidays; and
(c) encourage educators to avoid scheduling exams during Muslim holidays that require fasting;
(5) supporting Black girls in kindergarten through grade 12 with learning, developmental, and emotional disabilities that may pose an obstacle to learning and excelling in academics and supporting the parents of these girls; and
(6) support for the mother, parent, or other guardian of a Black girl with a disability.
b. The commission shall identify and recommend programs, policies, and incentives related to labor and workforce development that State, county, or municipal governments may adopt with respect to the following:
(1) careers in the skilled trades and transportation, including pre-apprenticeship, nontraditional, and career exploration programs;
(2) giving priority, to the extent allowed under federal law, to Black women-owned businesses that qualify as a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise when awarding yearly and multi-year contract dollars;
(3) entrepreneurship and cooperative business training for Black women;
(4) support for low-income Black women workers;
(5) career mentorship for Black women;
(6) support for Black women workers who enter the workforce over the age of 50;
(7) support for Black women reentering the workforce after leaving to care for a dependent, such as an elderly relative or child;
(8) increasing sustainable employment for households headed by Black women;
(9) limiting barriers to occupational licensure for Black women;
(10) vocational training and career technical education;
(11) career and job placement assistance for Black girls experiencing homelessness or discrimination; and
(12) support for Black women and girls with disabilities entering the workforce.
c. The commission shall identify and recommend programs, policies, and incentives related to healthcare that State, county, or municipal governments may adopt with respect to the following:
(1) studying the health, including the mental health, of Black women and girls;
(2) improving maternal health from the prenatal to postpartum period and infant mortality outcomes for Black mothers and children;
(3) community-based, on demand mental health and trauma services;
(4) providing gender and culturally responsive treatment to Black women and children who have experienced domestic violence and interpersonal violence;
(5) long-term, on demand substance use disorder treatment;
(6) community-based emergency response teams for Black women and girls;
(7) access to comprehensive well-women care, including local testing for mammograms, pap smears, and sexually transmitted infections, and general health screenings for Black women and girls;
(8) local neighborhood COVID-19 testing; and
(9) programs to assist Black women with a disability and the Black mothers, parents, or other guardians of a child with a disability with obtaining affordable health insurance.
d. The commission shall identify and recommend programs, policies, and incentives related to justice for and the civil rights of Black women and girls that State, county, or municipal governments may adopt with respect to the following:
(1) reentry assistance, reunification planning, and community-based programming for Black women who experienced sexual, domestic, or intimate partner violence; were imprisoned for or involved with the Division of Child Protection and Permanency because of drug-related activity; or have a mental illness or substance use disorder;
(2) promoting the treatment of the underlying problems Black women and girls face as an alternative to incarceration, such as by expanding the use of diversion programs, and expanding the use of parole;
(3) preventing the incarceration of Black mothers and other guardians who are the primary caretakers of minor children;
(4) access to legal and other assistance provided by domestic violence programs during proceedings involving the Division of Child Protection and Permanency;
(5) funding that enables communities to reimagine community-based programming;
(6) support for formerly incarcerated Black women, including support provided by community-led organizations;
(7) permitting formerly incarcerated and convicted Black women to be eligible to serve as a foster parent. The commission shall not consider any programs, policies, or incentives that would allow a person to serve as a foster parent if the person has been convicted of: a violent crime, including a crime where the person used or threatened to use a deadly weapon as defined in N.J.S.2C:11-1, caused death, or caused serious bodily injury as defined in N.J.S.2C:11-1; human trafficking in violation of section 1 of P.L.2005, c.77 (C.2C:13-8); or a sex offense as defined in section 2 of P.L.1994, c.133 (C.2C:7-2);
(8) judicial discretion in sentencing and the procedures for resentencing;
(9) reforming and limiting laws that require a mandatory minimum sentence;
(10) vacating judgments and expunging criminal offenses committed by victims of human and sex trafficking; and
(11) promoting alternatives to imprisonment for Black women with disabilities, including mental healthcare treatment, especially for nonviolent crimes.
e. The commission shall identify and recommend programs, policies, and incentives related to housing that State, county, or municipal governments may adopt with respect to the following:
(1) increasing access to:
(a) permanent and transitional housing for Black women with children, formerly incarcerated Black women, Black women with disabilities, and elderly Black women;
(b) legal representation for Black women with children and other Black women facing eviction; and
(c) homeownership assistance funding for Black women;
(2) increasing accessibility and availability of long-term neighborhood transitional and permanent supportive housing for Black women reentering the community following incarceration; and
(3) local neighborhood safe houses and other housing options for Black women and children who experience domestic or interpersonal violence.
f. The commission may identify and recommend any other program, policy, or incentive that State, county, or municipal governments may adopt that will benefit Black women and girls.
g. (1) Within one year of organizing, the commission shall submit a report to the Legislature in accordance with section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1) describing the activities undertaken by the commission pursuant to this section. The commission shall submit a report describing its activities annually thereafter.
(2) Within two years of organizing, the commission shall submit to the Legislature, the Governor, and each relevant executive branch department and agency in this State recommendations on policies, practices, programs, and incentives that may be adopted to improve outcomes for Black women and girls. The commission shall submit recommendations annually thereafter.
3. a. Biennially, the commission shall conduct a comprehensive study and collect data with respect to the effects, or anticipated effects, of the following on Black women and girls:
(1) the existence of any lacking contract opportunities with State, county, and municipal governments;
(2) the wage gap and pay equity;
(3) the high maternal mortality rate and the steps needed to reduce the rate;
(4) the high infant mortality rate;
(5) the impact of screening for breast cancer at an earlier age than 40 years;
(6) the school-to-prison pipeline and its impact on Black women and girls, including Black women and girls with disabilities;
(7) housing stability, homelessness, and access to affordable rental housing and home loans;
(8) the prevalence and rate of violence, including domestic and intimate partner violence, against Black women and girls, including Black transgender women and girls; the effectiveness of violence prevention strategies; and the barriers to accessing services that prevent violence;
(9) excessive use of force by law enforcement, including when death results, against Black women and girls, including Black transgender women and girls;
(10) the over-incarceration of Black women and girls, including Black transgender women and girls, in the youth and adult justice systems;
(11) establishing a moratorium on building any new women's prisons;
(12) repealing the "Adoption Safe Families Act of 1997," Pub.L. 105-89, and P.L.1999, c.53, the State corollary law;
(13) repealing any policy or law that creates a barrier to housing or precludes formerly incarcerated people from living with family members in public or private housing;
(14) neighborhood family reunification support;
(15) the high rate of human trafficking of Black women and girls and the impact of the State vacating judgments and expunging laws for victims of human trafficking; and
(16) any additional issues that the commission deems appropriate.
b. Within two years of organizing, the commission shall submit to the Legislature, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), and to the Governor a report describing its findings and activities pursuant to this section. The commission shall submit and publish a report describing its findings and activities biennially thereafter. The commission shall make each report publicly available.
c. Any data reported pursuant to this section shall be de-identified, aggregated, and handled in a manner consistent with federal and State privacy laws.
4. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill establishes the Commission on Black Women and Girls. The commission is to study various issues and identify and make recommendations related to various policies, programs, and incentives that would impact Black women and girls. To comply with the New Jersey Constitution, the commission is allocated within the Department of Children and Families (DCF) but acts independently of DCF.
The commission is composed of the following members: 1) the Commissioner of Health, 2) the Director of the Division on Women in DCF, 3) the Commissioner of Human Services, 4) the Commissioner of Education, 5) the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development, 6) the Director of the Division on Civil Rights in the Department of Law and Public Safety, 7) the Commissioner of Community Affairs, 8) the Public Defender, and 9) three public members who are required to be appointed by the Governor. One public member is required to have a background in medical research, and two public members are required to be appointed from community-based organizations that work on culturally specific issues unique to Black women and girls. The public members serve on the commission for four years except for the first public members, who are appointed for staggered terms.
Under the bill, the commission is required to identify and recommend any programs, policies, and incentives that State, county, or municipal governments can adopt to eliminate barriers and facilitate success for Black women and children in the following areas: 1) education, 2) labor and workforce development, 3) healthcare, 4) justice and civil rights, and 5) housing. Throughout the bill, the commission is required to consider various topics that impact Black women and girls, such as community-led services; incarceration; restorative justice; child welfare; substance use disorder; physical, mental, and emotional disabilities; mental health; and domestic violence. The commission is also required to annually submit reports and recommendations to the Governor, Legislature, and relevant executive branch departments and agencies.
Additionally, the commission is required to conduct a comprehensive study and collect data every other year on a variety of topics that impact Black women and girls. Every other year, the commission is also required to submit to the Governor and Legislature, and make publicly available, a report describing the comprehensive study and data collected. The data included in each report is required to be aggregated and de-identified.
Although the commission's focus is on eliminating barriers and facilitating success for Black women and children specifically, the sponsor intends for the knowledge and understanding developed by the commission pursuant to this bill to be applied more broadly to improve the outcomes for all underserved populations.
