NJ S2848

Court-ordered domestic violence counseling programs must include risk assessments that identify dynamics of domestic violence, escalating risk factors, and incorporate information provided by the courts.

Programs must provide education on tactics of power and control and frame domestic violence as a domination and control issue.

Counseling programs must establish protocols to document defendant attendance and provide additional reporting to courts for prompt review of noncompliance.

The New Jersey Department of Children and Families must conduct regular reviews of Batterers' Intervention Programs that it funds.

The bill takes effect on the first day of the third month following enactment and implements Recommendation #28 of the June 2023 Reconvened Joint Committee on Criminal Justice report.