N.J. Admin. Code § 10A:20-4.12

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 24, December 18, 2024

Section 10A:20-4.12 - Role of the Division of Programs and Community Services, Office of Community Programs, and the Office of Community Programs Classification and Assignment Unit

(a) Whenever the inmate to be reviewed has been convicted of an offense enumerated at N.J.S.A. 30:4-91.8, the Residential Community Reintegration Program Notification Committee shall provide written notice of that review to the prosecutor of the county in which the inmate was convicted or, if the matter was prosecuted by the Attorney General, the written notice shall be provided to the Attorney General:

1. The notice shall include the name of the inmate, identifying factors, and offense history and shall be timely emailed and a hard copy mailed by the Office of Community Programs Classification and Assignment Unit to the county prosecutor or Attorney General to ensure that the county prosecutor or Attorney General shall have 10 business days in which to contact the victim(s) and submit comments to the Department of Corrections;

2. If the county prosecutor or Attorney General does not provide comments within 10 business days, the New Jersey Department of Corrections may presume that the prosecutor or Attorney General, as the case may be, does not wish to submit any comments on the matter.

3. Comments from the victim of the crime or the victim's nearest relative if the crime resulted in death may be obtained upon notification by the county prosecutor or Attorney General to the Office of Victim Witness Advocacy of the county in which the inmate was convicted and that office may use any reasonable means available to give notice within 10 business days to the victim of the crime or the victim's nearest relative if the crime resulted in death.

i. The notice provided pursuant to this paragraph shall be given only if a request for such notification has been made by the victim or the victim's nearest relative, as the case may be, to the county prosecutor or Attorney General, at the time the inmate was sentenced.

ii. Upon receipt of such notice, the victim or the victim's nearest relative, as the case may be, shall have 10 business days in which to submit comments. If the victim or the victim's nearest relative, as the case may be, does not provide comments within the 10-business-day period, the New Jersey Department of Corrections may presume that the victim or victim's nearest relative, as the case may be, does not wish to submit any comments on the matter; and

4. Any comments provided pursuant to (a)1, 2, or 3 above shall be, in writing, and shall be delivered to the New Jersey Department of Corrections.

i. Comments submitted pursuant to this subsection shall be handled with strict confidentiality and shall only be reviewed by the Residential Community Program Notification Committee, the Committee Chairperson, and an Assistant Commissioner, or higher.

(b) Whenever the New Jersey Department of Corrections receives comments from a prosecutor or the Attorney General, as the case may be, or from a victim or a victim's nearest relative, as the case may be, concerning the participation of an inmate in accordance with this act, it shall give all due consideration to the information in those comments when considering the participation of that inmate. A Residential Community Reintegration Program Notification Committee, representing several disciplines within the New Jersey Department of Corrections, reviews the comments and inmate records and votes to approve or disapprove inmate assignment to a Residential Community Reintegration Program.

(c) The Director, Office of Community Programs, or designee, may review State-sentenced inmates in adult county correctional facilities for eligibility without submission of an application by the inmate.

(d) The Office of Community Programs shall assign the inmate to an initial Residential Community Reintegration Program followed by preparation of the transfer order for the transfer of the inmate from the correctional facility to an initial RCRP assignment.

1. Initial assignments for male inmates shall be to an Assessment and Treatment Center where treatment needs will be assessed; and

2. Initial assignment for female inmates shall be to a Specialized Gender Responsive Program where treatment needs shall be assessed and gender responsive services shall be facilitated through a Trauma Informed Care approach.

(e) The Office of Community Programs shall maintain a waiting list of inmates approved for assignment to the RCRPs.

(f) Each Assessment and Treatment Center shall establish an Assessment Center Classification Committee, which shall be responsible for reviewing the progress of inmates and for assigning inmates who are housed at the Assessment and Treatment Center to:

1. Another RCRP program; or

2. Return to the regional institution for referral to the Institutional Classification Committee at the correctional facility for an appropriate housing assignment.

(g) Each Specialized Gender Responsive Program for female inmates shall establish an assessment meeting for the purpose of reviewing the progress of inmates and for assigning inmates to:

1. A correctional treatment, including substance abuse treatment;

2. An educational, vocational training, and work release program; or

3. Making a written recommendation to the Office of Community Programs Director, or designee, as to why the inmate is not appropriate for either track.

(h) At the direction of the Commissioner, the Office of Community Programs (OCP) shall have final approval or disapproval authority for the participation of all inmates in the Residential Community Reintegration Program.

N.J. Admin. Code § 10A:20-4.12

Amended by 48 N.J.R. 86(a), effective 1/4/2016

Amended by 52 N.J.R. 2060(a), effective 11/16/2020

Amended by 55 N.J.R. 2191(a), effective 10/16/2023