TRENTON – A bill sponsored by Senators Ronald L. Rice and Joseph F. Vitale which would create better monitoring and oversight of welfare emergency placement in order to promote a more centralized, coordinated approach to serving homeless New Jerseyans was approved by the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee today by a vote of 8-0 with one abstention.
“We’ve seen New Jersey residents throughout the State facing alarming rates of severe poverty and homelessness, while the unemployment rate remains above the national average,” said Senator Rice, D-Essex, and a member of the health committee. “There’s more demand than ever for emergency assistance programs that provide services and shelter for people in need, but we have to make sure that emergency assistance shelters meet basic safety standards, and that recipients of emergency placement have access to other services that can benefit them. This bill would create a system of monitoring welfare emergency placement, and would coordinate services for homeless New Jerseyans.”