9:6-8.104 Establishment, maintenance of county-based multidisciplinary teams; "child advocacy center" defined.

6. Regional centers shall act as a resource in the establishment and maintenance of county-based multidisciplinary teams which work in conjunction with the county prosecutor and the Department of Children and Families in the investigation of child abuse and neglect in the county in which the child who is undergoing evaluation and treatment resides. The Commissioner of Children and Families, in consultation with the New Jersey Task Force on Child Abuse and Neglect, shall establish standards for a county team. The county team shall consist of representatives of the following disciplines: law enforcement; child protective services; mental health; substance abuse identification and treatment; and medicine; and, in those counties where a child advocacy center has been established, shall include a staff representative of a child advocacy center, all of whom have been trained to recognize child abuse and neglect. The county team shall provide: facilitation of the investigation, management and disposition of cases of criminal child abuse and neglect; referral services to the regional diagnostic center; appropriate referrals to medical and social service agencies; information regarding the identification and treatment of child abuse and neglect; and appropriate follow-up care for abused children and their families.

As used in this section, "child advocacy center" means a county-based center which meets the standards for a county team established by the commissioner pursuant to this section and demonstrates a multidisciplinary approach in providing comprehensive, culturally competent child abuse prevention, intervention and treatment services to children who are victims of child abuse or neglect.

L.1998, c.19, s.6; amended 2001, c.344; 2004, c.130, s.36; 2006, c.47, s.65.