TRENTON, NJ — The Senate Health, Human Services, and Senior Citizens Committee has passed a bill sponsored by Senate Majority Leader M. Teresa Ruiz aimed at reforming the process of collecting child support for children under the care of the Division of Child Protection and Permanency.
Majority Leader Ruiz (D-Essex) explained that the current efforts to collect child support from parents whose children have been removed from their custody often prove counterproductive. She highlighted the financial and legal burdens on parents, which can hinder the process of reunification, even when it is in the child’s best interest.
Bill S-4248 proposes that all current unpaid balances of child support obligations, related warrants, unsatisfied civil judgments, and outstanding liens intended to reimburse the Division of Child Protection and Permanency would be declared null and void. Additionally, it seeks to remove the existing procedures for seeking reimbursement from the state law.
This legislative change is in line with the revised policies of the federal Children’s Bureau issued in 2022. These policies allow agencies to more narrowly define the circumstances under which it is appropriate to seek child support from legally responsible persons.