Bill > A2037

Introduced Session

This bill requires the Department of Children and Families (DCF) to prepare and make available on its Internet website, in an easily printable format, information on the program providing "baby boxes" and safe sleep education to expecting and new parents. DCF would update the information whenever new information on the program becomes available. DCF would also be required to prominently display on its website, and update as necessary, an easily accessible hyperlink to the program providing the "baby boxes" and safe sleep education. Furthermore, DCF would be required to ensure, in consultation with the Department of Health (DOH), the Department of Human Services (DHS), the Department of Education (DOE), and, as deemed by the DCF to be appropriate, any other State department that provides services to parents or children, that the information posted on the DCF website is also made available, and that a website link to the program providing the "baby boxes" and safe sleep education is posted, on the websites of the DOH, the DHS, the DOE, and any other appropriate State department providing services to parents or children, and is updated as necessary. As used in the bill, "baby box" means a box made of durable cardboard, filled with essential items for newborns and expecting and new parents, such as diapers, baby wipes, and information on safe sleep techniques, that can serve as a safe sleep environment for the first few months of an infant's life, and meets all applicable tenets of the bassinet standard established by the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission. New Jersey's program, a partnership between the State's Child Fatality and Near Fatality Review Board and The Baby Box Company, provides all expecting and new parents with a free "baby box" after the parents complete an online parenting education course. The program is anticipated to distribute approximately 105,000 "baby boxes" throughout the State in 2017.

Committee Categories

Daniel Benson (D)*,  Pam Lampitt (D)*,  Eliana Pintor Marin (D)*,  Valerie Vainieri Huttle (D)*,  Gabriela Mosquera (D),  Carol Murphy (D), 

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Women and Children Committee (on 01/14/2020)

Official Document