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A4440
ASSEMBLY, No. 4440
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 24, 2026
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman� ELIANA PINTOR MARIN
District 29 (Essex and Hudson)
SYNOPSIS
���� Requires various State departments to provide
linkages to information on �baby boxes� and safe sleep education on their
websites.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� As introduced.
��
An Act
concerning safe sleep education 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.� The Department of
Children and Families shall prepare and make available on the department�s
Internet website, in an easily printable format, information on the program providing
�baby boxes� and safe sleep education to expecting and new parents.� The
department shall update the information whenever new information about the
program becomes available.
���� b.��� The department shall post
a website link to the program providing the �baby boxes� and safe sleep
education on its Internet website, and shall ensure that the link is easily
accessible to the public, is prominently displayed on the website, and is
updated as necessary.
���� c.���� The department shall
ensure, in consultation with the Departments of Health, Human Services, and
Education, and, as deemed appropriate by the Department of Children and
Families, in consultation with any other State department that provides
services to parents or children, that:
���� (1)�� the information posted
on its website pursuant to subsection a. of this section is also made available
on the websites of the Department of Health, the Department of Human Services,
the Department of Education, and any other appropriate State department that
provides services to parents or children, and is updated as necessary; and
���� (2)�� a website link to the
program providing �baby boxes� and safe sleep education is posted to the websites
of the Department of Health, the Department of Human Services, the Department
of Education, and any other appropriate State department that provides services
to parents or children, and is updated as necessary.
���� d.��� As used in this section,
�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.
���� 2.��� The Department of
Children and Families, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure
Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.) shall adopt rules and
regulations to effectuate the purposes of this act.
���� 3.��� This act shall take
effect on the first day of the third month following enactment.
STATEMENT
���� This bill mandates that the
Department of Children and Families (DCF) 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
post a website link to the program providing the �baby boxes� and safe sleep
education on its website, and ensure that the link is easily accessible to the
public, prominently displayed on the website, and updated as necessary.
���� As used in 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.
���� The bill stipulates that DCF
would ensure, in consultation with all other State departments, that the
information posted on its website is made available, and the website link to
the program providing the �baby boxes� and safe sleep education is posted on
the website of every State department, and is updated as necessary.
���� �Baby boxes� are made of
durable cardboard, filled with essential items for newborns, such as diapers
and baby wipes, and are large enough to serve as a crib for the first few
months of an infant�s life.
���� 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.