ASSEMBLY APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE
STATEMENT TO
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
ASSEMBLY, Nos. 2998 and 567
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
DATED: MARCH 20, 2025
The Assembly Appropriations Committee reports favorably an
Assembly Committee Substitute for Assembly Bill Nos. 2998 and 567.
As reported, this bill permits the court to order counseling for a
child in a proceeding involving domestic violence. The bill also
permits the court to order legal and physical custody of a minor child
to the plaintiff in certain circumstances involving domestic violence.
Current law provides that pursuant to section 1 of P.L.1991, c.261
(C.2C:25-28), once a domestic violence complaint is filed, the victim
and the abuser should be advised of any programs or services available
for advice and counseling. The statute does not require that the victim
and the abuser be advised of specific services available for counseling
for any minor children of either party to the complaint.
The committee substitute permits a court to order counseling in
appropriate cases, including when a child witnesses or experiences
domestic violence while residing in the household with the abuser and
the victim. Additionally, the substitute permits the court to order the
abusive party, to pay for the domestic violence counseling provided to
the child. A defendant ordered to pay for domestic violence
counseling is required to show proof of payment of the services to the
court. The substitute permits the court to order a defendant to provide
reimbursement for costs incurred in providing counseling for a child.
The court may enter this order upon evaluating and determining the
defendant’s ability to pay for such services. The defendant may be
required to pay the victim directly, reimburse the Victims of Crime
Compensation Office for compensation paid to the victim from the
Victims of Crime Compensation Office, or reimburse any party that
may have compensated the victim. The committee substitute clarifies
that any direct payment to the plaintiff is not permitted to be made in
person, but may be made electronically or in any other manner that
does not require contact between the victim and the defendant.
The substitute also establishes that, upon the issuance of a final
restraining order, there is a presumption that legal and physical
custody be awarded to the non-abusive parent. Nothing in the bill
precludes the non-custodial parent from making an application to the
court to modify custody after an award of custody to the non-abusive
parent. The substitute establishes that the absent good cause to the 2
contrary, and upon request of the victim, the court is required to order
in any subsequent child support proceeding following the entry of a
final restraining order, the victim is not required to be in the same
room as the person found by the court to have committed domestic
violence. Further the victim’s and child’s whereabouts are required to
be kept confidential.
The substitute clarifies that the court consider a request by a
custodial parent who has been subjected to domestic violence by a
person with parenting time rights to a child in the parent’s custody for
an investigation or evaluation to assess the risk of harm to the child
prior to entering a parenting time order. Currently, the provisions of
section N.J.S.A.2C:25-29 specify that the investigation or evaluation
would be conducted by an appropriate agency.
FISCAL IMPACT:
This bill is not certified as requiring a fiscal note.