Requires DHS and DCF to employ Director of Medical Services; appropriates $480,000.

S3901

SENATE, No. 3901

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED MARCH 12, 2026

Sponsored by:

Senator� ANGELA V. MCKNIGHT

District 31 (Hudson)

SYNOPSIS

���� Requires DHS and DCF to employ Director of Medical
Services; appropriates $480,000.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act

concerning abuse, neglect, or exploitation
investigations, supplementing Title 30 of the Revised Statutes, and making an
appropriation.

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

���� 1.� a.� The Departments of
Human Services and Children and Families shall each create the new position of,
and hire a full-time, salaried, Director of Medical Services in the Office of Program
Integrity and Accountability (OPIA) in the Department of Human Services and the
Institutional Abuse Investigation Unit in the Department of Children and
Families, respectively.�

���� b.� The directors shall:

���� (1) serve as advisors to the
Office of Investigations, the Institutional Abuse Investigation Unit, or any
other investigative entity responsible for the investigation of incidences of
abuse, neglect, or death pursuant to section 3 of P.L.2010, c.5 (C.30:6D-75) or
allegations of child abuse or neglect pursuant to section 4 of P.L.1971, c.437
(C.9:6-8.11) when complex medical issues or conditions exist;

���� (2) provide expert testimony,
and supporting administrative hearings and other legal proceedings relating to
the investigation of incidences of abuse, neglect, or exploitation or
allegations of child abuse or neglect; and

���� (3) review medical policy,
procedures, programs, services, and best practices at State developmental
centers, residential facilities,� and other institutions or organizations that
provide care to persons with developmental disabilities in order to:

���� (a) recommend proposed changes
in such policies, programs services, and practices, based on trend analysis
data;

���� (b) improve medical outcomes;
and

���� (c) establish, improve, or
expand quality of care standards at such centers, facilities, institutions, or
organizations.

���� c.� The directors shall:

���� (1) be physicians licensed and
in good standing in the State;

���� (2) graduates of a regularly
chartered and legally constituted medical school or college or osteopathic
medical school or college; and

���� (3) possess such minimum
training and experiential requirements as are established by the State Board of
Medical Examiners.

���� 2.� There is appropriated from
the General Fund the sum of $480,000, of which $240,000 shall be allocated to
both the Departments of Human Services and Children and Families to hire a new
Director of Medical Services at the Office of Program Integrity and
Accountability and the Institutional Abuse Investigation Unit, respectively.

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

STATEMENT

���� This bill requires the
Departments of Human Services (DHS)and Children and Families (DCF) to each
create the new position of, and hire a full-time, salaried, Director of Medical
Services in the Office of Program Integrity and Accountability (OPIA) in the
DHS and the Institutional Abuse Investigation Unit in the DCF, respectively.

���� The directors are to serve as
advisors to the office, unit, or any other investigative entity responsible for
the investigation of incidences of abuse, neglect, or death pursuant to section
3 of P.L.2010, c.5 (C.30:6D-75) or allegations of child abuse or neglect
pursuant to section 4 of P.L.1971, c.437 (C.9:6-8.11) when complex medical
issues or conditions exist and meet the educational and professional
requirements and carry out the duties and responsibilities outlined in the
bill.

���� The bill also appropriates
$480,000 from the General Fund of which $240,00 is allocated to both the DHS
and the DCF to hire a new Director of Medical Services in the OPIA and the
Institutional Abuse Investigation Unit, respectively.