52:4B-72 Establishment of family justice centers.

1. a. (1) A county or a non-governmental, community-based agency, in partnership with the county and municipal governments therein, may provide multi-agency governmental and non-governmental assistance, including but not limited to legal, law enforcement, social services, and health care assistance, to any victim of domestic violence as defined in subsection d. of section 3 of P.L.1991, c.261 (C.2C:25-19), sexual assault as defined in N.J.S.2C:14-2, human trafficking as defined in section 1 of P.L.2005, c.77 (C.2C:13-8), or criminal abandonment or neglect of an elderly person or disabled adult as defined in section 1 of P.L.1989, c.23 (C.2C:24-8), as well as assistance to the victim's family members, by establishing a centralized location, to be referred to as a family justice center, through which the victim and family members can request and access all available multi-agency assistance, and this assistance can be efficiently coordinated.

(2) A county or non-governmental, community-based agency may establish more than one family justice center, so long as the same forms of multi-agency governmental and non-governmental assistance are available at each center. If multiple centers are established in a county, they shall coordinate and collaborate with one another with respect to the provision of services.

b. The family justice center shall operate under a director, who shall have, by education, training, or experience, an expertise in victim advocacy, and who may be an existing county official or employee, or a designated professional from a community-based agency. The family justice center shall be additionally staffed by a privacy officer designated by the director, who may be an existing county official or employee, or a professional from a community-based agency, and who is responsible for overseeing the center's privacy policies and procedures, as described in section 4 of this act, concerning the maintenance of confidential records on victims and their family members, and the limited sharing of information from those records and other sources, when consented to by the victim, amongst the providers of assistance at the center, as well as third-party service providers. The county or community-based agency may also provide for any additional administrative and other personnel which it deems necessary for the proper operation of the center.

c. In cooperation with the Judiciary, municipalities, and non-governmental entities, the multi-agency assistance available at a county's or community-based agency's family justice center may be provided by, but is not limited to, the following professionals or volunteers:

(1) law enforcement officers;

(2) county or municipal prosecutors;

(3) representatives from the Judiciary's Domestic Violence Hearing Officer Program;

(4) the county's victim-witness coordinator, defined in section 7 of P.L.1985, c.404 (C.52:4B-45), or a designated representative thereof, or the director or designated representative of a designated county-wide domestic violence agency as defined in subsection c. of section 3 of P.L.2013, c.82 (C.34:11C-3) or rape crisis center as defined in section 1 of P.L.1981, c.256 (C.52:4B-22);

(5) health care professionals, which could include a certified forensic sexual assault nurse examiner who is certified pursuant to the provisions of section 5 of P.L.2001, c.81 (C.52:4B-53);

(6) victim counselors as defined in subsection e. of section 3 of P.L.1987, c.169 (C.2A:84A-22.14), certified domestic violence specialists as defined in subsection c. of section 3 of P.L.2013, c.82 (C.34:11C-3), rape care advocates as defined in section 4 of P.L.2001, c.81 (C.52:4B-52), or representatives of providers of services to victims of human trafficking that have been designated as victim service providers by the Director of the State's Office of Victim-Witness Advocacy pursuant to section 6 of P.L.1985, c.404 (C.52:4B-44);

(7) staff from the county's child advocacy center as defined in section 6 of P.L.1998, c.19 (C.9:6-8.104), or members of the county's multidisciplinary team, established pursuant to that same section, which investigates child abuse and neglect and provides victim services to abused children and their families;

(8) domestic violence shelter staff from shelters which meet all of the standards for operating and service delivery required by the "Shelters for Victims of Domestic Violence Act," P.L.1979, c.337 (C.30:14-1 et seq.);

(9) staff from local governmental or non-governmental, community-based social and human services agencies, including child care services;

(10) staff from the county health department established pursuant to section 6 of P.L.1975, c.329 (C.26:3A2-6), or municipal local health agencies or municipalities' contracting health agencies as described in section 10 of P.L.1975, c.329 (C.26:3A2-10);

(11) staff from the county welfare board, or local assistance boards, municipal advisory committees, or resident helpers involved with services and relief for the poor, as established or appointed pursuant to Title 44 of the Revised Statutes; and

(12) attorneys from Legal Services of New Jersey or its affiliates, or other legal service providers which provide legal assistance in civil matters to the poor.

d. The director of the family justice center shall develop, approve, and provide for a training program, or in the alternative approve the use of a training program offered by a federal, State, or local governmental entity or recognized non-profit organization, for all professionals and volunteers providing assistance at the family justice center, which consists of eight or more hours of instruction annually, covering topics that include, but are not limited to, victims' rights, victim advocacy, risk assessments for victims and their family members and the appropriate case response thereto, and confidentiality issues associated with the treatment and protection of victims and their family members.

L.2019, c.394, s.1.