HUMAN SERVICES DIVISION OF YOUTH AND FAMILY SERVICES
New Jersey Safe Haven Infant Protection Act Procedures and Requirements
Adopted New Rules: N.J.A.C. 10:133K
| Proposed: | February 20, 2001, at 33 N.J.R. 647(a). |
| Adopted: | 2002, by Gwendolyn L. Harris, Commissioner, Department of Human Services. |
| Filed: |
2002 as R. d. with substantive and technical changes not requiring additional public notice and comment (see N.J.A.C. 1:30-4.3). |
| Authority: | N.J.S.A. 30:4C-15.1, 15.5 et seq., and 30:4C-4(h). |
| Effective Date: | Upon promulgation. |
| Expiration Date: | Five years from the effective date of the adoption. |
Summary
The Division is expanding the definition of "police station" at N.J.A.C. 10:133K-1.3 to include campus police, housing police, and community police substations, to reflect language in an Attorney General directive to law enforcement agencies on the implementation of the New Jersey Safe Haven Infant Protection Act. The Division is inserting commas in this definition, as appropriate, to separate terms.
The Division is reordering subsections in N.J.A.C. 10:133K-1.7 for clarity and enhanced readability. Subsections (a) through (d) now discuss actions of the police when an infant is brought to the police station. New subsection (e), which had been section (d) in the proposal, discusses actions of the State police to determine if the infant has been reported missing.
Within N.J.A.C. 10:133K-1.7(e) and N.J.A.C. 10:133K-1.11(a)2, the Division is correcting the name of a unit within the Division of State Police, from "the State Police Missing Persons Bureau," to "the Division of State Police, Missing Persons Unit." Also at N.J.A.C. 10:133K-1.11(a)2, the term "bureau" is replaced by the term, "agency," to coincide with this change.
The Division is correcting a printing error at N.J.A.C. 10:133K-1.9(b)9, by eliminating the "s" from "treatments," to match a reference to "treatment" at N.J.A.C. 10:133K-1.8(a)7.
The Division is replacing the term, "handicaps," with the more standardized term, "disabilities," in N.J.A.C. 10:133K-1.10(c)1. The word "or" is also being eliminated for grammatical purposes.
The Division is correcting punctuation errors at N.J.A.C. 10:133K-1.11(a)3, N.J.A.C. 10:133K-1.12(b), and N.J.A.C. 10:133K-1.13(a) by placing commas after "to" and "at." These changes will make punctuation consistent throughout the rules.
Federal Standards Statement
The new rules are proposed to enact State legislation, the New Jersey Safe Haven Infant Protection Act. The proposed rules are consistent with Federal regulations implementing the Adoption and Safe Families Act, ASFA. Specifically, in situations in which a child has been abandoned, 45 CFR 1356.21(b)(3) permits a state child protection agency to seek an exception to the requirement to provide reasonable efforts toward family reunification. Also 45 CFR 1356.21(i) requires the Division, as the State child protection agency, to promptly seek termination of parental rights for abandoned children.
I, Commissioner Gwendolyn L. Harris, certify that the above analysis permits the public to understand accurately and plainly the purposes and expected consequences of this rulemaking activity.
| ______________________________________________ | |
| Gwendolyn L. Harris |
Date
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| Commissioner | |
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