The New Jersey Senate is considering a bipartisan bill (S-4211) co-sponsored by Senators Kristin Corrado and Stephen Sweeney that would appropriate $4.5 million to create “centers for transition” at local county colleges. If approved, the centers would serve people with intellectual and developmental disabilities up to age 24 and would coordinate and integrate existing county and state-based services, programs, and resources. The goal is to “ensure that individuals with developmental disabilities have opportunities to receive mentoring, job coaching, skill training and any other appropriate wrap-around services to help them make a successful transition into employment and independent living.”
The bill has the support of the New Jersey Business and Industry Association (NJBIA), which said it will require the board of trustees at each county college to establish one of the centers. The Senate has passed the bill and it’s been received by the Assembly and referred to the Assembly Higher Education Committee.
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