Bill > A620

Introduced Session

This bill directs the Department of Human Services (department), in collaboration with county welfare agencies, to establish an enrollment and outreach program focused on assisting any New Jersey child, with an incarcerated non-custodial parent, in enrolling in safety net programs for which the child or the child's custodial parent or guardian may be eligible. As used in the bill, safety net program means any program administered through the department, which is authorized to provide assistance and services to needy persons, such as the New Jersey Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the Work First New Jersey, the NJ FamilyCare program, and the Child Care Subsidy Program. In order to effectuate the goal of the program, the department, at a minimum, is required to: 1) collaborate with the Department of Corrections, the Administrative Office of the Courts, and any other applicable public agency to identify any child in the State, up to and including the age of 18, whose non-custodial parent is or will be incarcerated; 2) contact, at a minimum, the custodial parent or guardian of such a child no less than on three occasions, using as many means of contact as are available to the department, with the department contacting the parent or guardian in writing on at least one occasion. During each contact, the custodial parent or guardian of the child is to be informed of the various benefits and services offered through the safety net programs administered by the department; the eligibility requirements of each program; the methods in which the custodial parent or guardian may apply for the programs, including the physical location and hours of operation of the local county welfare agency; a contact phone number and e-mail address which the custodial parent or guardian may use to ask questions or seek guidance on enrollment at a later time; and referrals to any program administered by a State agency other than the department that may provide services or benefits useful to the child or the custodial parent or guardian of the child; and 3) track any applications for safety net programs submitted under the program and expedite the processing of these applications such that a determination is provided to the custodial parent or guardian within 30 days of submission.

AI Summary

Committee Categories

Gary Schaer (D)*,  Shanique Speight (D)*,  Carmen Morales (D), 

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Aging and Human Services Committee (on 01/13/2026)

Official Document