TRENTON, N.J. — Gov. Phil Murphy signed three bipartisan bills into law aimed at strengthening oversight, expanding protections and reinforcing quality standards for providers serving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities across New Jersey.
“Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities deserve to feel safe, respected, and supported in every setting, without exception,” Murphy said. “These measures give the State clearer authority and stronger tools to demand accountability and uphold high standards of care. With today’s bill signings, we are reaffirming our commitment to ensuring the intellectual and developmental disability community receives the quality care, dignity, and support they deserve.”
The package includes a measure that expands the state’s enforcement tools over residential and other service providers and creates a fund to reinvest proceeds from fines into monitoring and quality improvements. Another bill revises the legal definition of child abuse or neglect to include certain individuals up to age 21 in regulated settings, shifting investigative responsibility for incidents involving young adults from the Department of Human Services to the Department of Children and Families. A third establishes a Disability Mortality and Abuse Prevention Advisory Committee within Human Services to review selected cases involving abuse, neglect, exploitation or death of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
“Fundamental to New Jersey Human Services’ mission is our commitment to support and protect people with intellectual and developmental disabilities,” Human Services Commissioner Sarah Adelman said. “These new laws give the Department additional tools to promote high-quality care, strengthen oversight, and ensure that our systems continue to evolve in ways that reflect best practices and the needs of the people we serve. I am grateful to Senator Vitale, Assemblywoman Murphy and the bill’s sponsors for prioritizing this important package of legislation on behalf of the residents that we serve.”
“This legislation strengthens accountability and transparency in group homes by creating a clear, consistent framework for investigations for young adults ages 18-21 in care,” Children and Families Commissioner Christine Norbut Beyer said. “By streamlining the investigative process and standardizing critical reporting criteria, we are ensuring that incidents are addressed promptly and effectively, centering the health, safety and dignity of youth in care.”
“These laws strengthen our ability to hold providers accountable for violating the most serious requirements we have in place to protect individuals with IDD,” said Kaylee McGuire, Human Services’ deputy commissioner for Aging and Disability Services. “By expanding protections, reinforcing accountability, and formalizing opportunities to learn from experience, these measures will further support a system that prioritizes safety, quality, and respect across New Jersey’s disability and human services network.”
“These new laws give us stronger tools to make sure providers meet the high standards that individuals and families deserve,” Division of Developmental Disabilities Assistant Commissioner Jonathan Seifried said.
State officials said the bills were drafted with cooperation between Human Services leadership and Sen. Joseph Vitale, chair of the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee.
“These laws strengthen protections for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities by reinforcing oversight and accountability,” Vitale said. “From enhancing the State’s enforcement authority over service providers, to better aligning oversight responsibility among state agencies, to empowering a dedicated advisory committee to examine how cases of abuse and neglect are substantiated, this legislation ensures that safety, dignity, and quality of care remain at the center of our system. I am grateful to the Governor for signing these important reforms into law.”
Senate Republican Leader Anthony M. Bucco said the legislation would give the state stronger authority to respond when violations occur. “Accountability has to be more than a promise, it must be enforceable,” Bucco said.
“Safety does not end at age 18,” Sen. Joe Cryan said, calling the change in abuse and neglect protections a way to close gaps for young adults in certain supervised settings.
Sen. Angela McKnight said the advisory committee is intended to improve how cases are examined. “This legislation is about accountability and prevention,” she said.
Assembly sponsors and advocates also praised the measures, with Autism New Jersey calling the reforms a step toward a safer system and The Arc of New Jersey emphasizing that oversight and accountability are “non-negotiable.”
