9:6-8.109 Child Advocacy Center-Multidisciplinary Team Advisory Board.

3. a. There is established in, but not of, the Department of Children and Families in the Executive Branch of State government the Child Advocacy Center-Multidisciplinary Team Advisory Board. For the purpose of complying with the provisions of Article V, Section IV, paragraph 1 of the New Jersey Constitution, the Child Advocacy Center-Multidisciplinary Team Advisory Board is allocated within the Department of Children and Families, but, notwithstanding this allocation, the advisory board shall be independent of any supervision or control by the department or by any officer or employee thereof.

b. The purpose of the board is to establish a certification program for the State's child advocacy centers and multidisciplinary teams to ensure that the certified centers and teams comply with the accreditation standards developed by the National Children's Alliance, or its successor.

c. The board shall consist of 14 members as follows:

(1) the Commissioner of Children and Families, the Attorney General, the Chairperson of the New Jersey Task Force on Child Abuse and Neglect, and the Chapter Coordinator of New Jersey Children's Alliance or their designees, who shall serve ex officio; and

(2) ten public members, with at least 10 years' experience, background, or specialized knowledge in child welfare, child advocacy centers, and multidisciplinary teams, to be appointed by the Governor, including a representative of the New Jersey Prosecutors' Association, a law guardian, a multidisciplinary team coordinator, a pediatrician with expertise in child abuse and neglect, a psychologist with expertise in child abuse and neglect, a representative of a child advocacy center, a representative of a victim or family advocacy group, a law enforcement officer with experience in child abuse and neglect investigations, an academician with experience and expertise in child abuse and neglect research or a related field; and one member with general expertise in child welfare and multidisciplinary teams.

d. Vacancies in the membership of the board shall be filled in the same manner provided for the original appointments. The members of the board shall serve without compensation, but may be reimbursed for traveling and other miscellaneous expenses necessary to perform their duties, within the limits of funds made available to the board for its purposes.

e. The board shall organize as soon as practicable, but no later than 60 days following the appointment of its members, and shall select a chairperson and vice-chairperson from among the members.

The chairperson shall appoint a secretary who need not be a member of the board.

f. The board may meet at the call of its chair and hold hearings at the times and in the places it deems appropriate and necessary to fulfill its charge. The board shall be entitled to call to its assistance and avail itself of the services of the employees of any State, county, or municipal department, board, bureau, commission, or agency as it may require and as may be available to it for its purposes.

g. The Department of Children and Families shall provide professional and clerical staff to the board as necessary to effectuate the purposes of this act.

L.2017, c.90, s.3.