Grants children placed in resource family care right to have certain signage displayed in home.

A4312

ASSEMBLY, No. 4312

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 19, 2026

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman� SHANIQUE SPEIGHT

District 29 (Essex and Hudson)

SYNOPSIS

���� Grants children placed in resource family care right
to have certain signage displayed in home.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act
concerning children in
resource family care
and amending
P.L.1991, c.290.

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1. Section 4 of P.L.1991,
c.290 (C.9:6B-4) is amended to read as follows:����

���� 4.��� A child placed outside
his home shall have the following rights, consistent with the health, safety
and physical and psychological welfare of the child and as appropriate to the
individual circumstances of the child's physical or mental development:�

���� a.���� To placement outside
his home only after the applicable department has made every reasonable effort,
including the provision or arrangement of financial or other assistance and
services as necessary, to enable the child to remain in his home;�

���� b.��� To the best efforts of
the applicable department, including the provision or arrangement of financial
or other assistance and services as necessary, to place the child with a
relative;�

���� c.�� To the best efforts of
the applicable department, including the provision or arrangement of financial
or other assistance and services as necessary, to place the child in an
appropriate setting in his own community;

���� d.��� To the best efforts of
the applicable department to place the child in the same setting with the
child's sibling if the sibling is also being placed outside his home;�

���� e.���� To visit with the
child's parents or legal guardian immediately after the child has been placed
outside his home and on a regular basis thereafter, and to otherwise maintain
contact with the child's parents or legal guardian, and to receive assistance
from the applicable department to facilitate that contact, including the
provision or arrangement of transportation as necessary;�

���� f.���� To visit with the
child's sibling on a regular basis and to otherwise maintain contact with the
child's sibling if the child was separated from his sibling upon placement
outside his home, including the provision or arrangement of transportation as
necessary;�

���� g.��� To placement in the
least restrictive setting appropriate to the child's needs and conducive to the
health and safety of the child;�

���� h.��� To be free from physical
or psychological abuse and from repeated changes in placement before the
permanent placement or return home of the child;�

���� i.���� To have regular contact
with any caseworker assigned to the child's case who is employed by the
applicable department or any agency or organization with which the applicable
department contracts to provide services and the opportunity, as appropriate to
the age of the child, to participate in the planning and regular review of the
child's case, and to be informed on a timely basis of changes in any placement
plan which is prepared pursuant to law or regulation and the reasons therefor
in terms and language appropriate to the child's ability to understand;�

���� j.���� To have a placement
plan, as required by law or regulation, that reflects the child's best
interests and is designed to facilitate the permanent placement or return home
of the child in a timely manner that is appropriate to the needs of the child;�

���� k.��� To services of a high
quality that are designed to maintain and advance the child's mental and
physical well-being;�

���� l.���� To be represented in
the planning and regular review of the child's case, including the placement
and development of, or revisions to, any placement plan which is required by
law or regulation and the provision of services to the child, the child's parents
or legal guardian and the temporary caretaker, by a person other than the
child's parent or legal guardian or temporary caretaker who will advocate for
the best interests of the child and the enforcement of the rights established
pursuant to this act, which person may be the caseworker, as appropriate, or a
person appointed by the court for this purpose;�

���� m.�� To receive an educational
program which will maximize the child's potential;

���� n.��� To receive adequate,
safe and appropriate food, clothing and housing;

���� o.��� To receive adequate and
appropriate medical care;
[
and
]

���� p.��� To be free from
unwarranted physical restraint and isolation
; and

����
q.��� To have conspicuous
signage displayed in no less than three locations in the home that lists
contact information for children who are abused or who require mental health
services
.

(cf: P.L.1991, c.290, s.4)

���� 2.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.

STATEMENT

���� This bill amends the �Child
Placement Bill of Rights Act� to grant children placed in resource family care the
right to have certain signage displayed in their home.

���� Under the bill, a child placed
in resource family care is granted the right to have conspicuous signage
displayed in no less than three locations in the home that lists contact
information for children who are abused or who require mental health services.