Families pushing Assembly Bill A2705, known as Billy Cray's Law, planned a rally outside the State House in Trenton on Monday, Oct. 5, to press for a vote on requiring cameras in some group homes for people with developmental disabilities. News 12 New Jersey reported the push on Oct. 3; the Senate version is S1172.
What A2705 would do
As News 12 described the bill, a covered group home serving people with higher support needs that has no common-area cameras would have to install them when residents and their authorized representatives ask together and all of them consent. Cameras would record video only, never audio, and could not go in bathrooms or other private areas. Providers would keep recordings for 90 days, residents or representatives could ask to review them, and footage relevant to an abuse, neglect or exploitation report would go to the Division of Developmental Disabilities. Residents could withdraw consent, and no one could be made to agree as a condition of staying in their home.
New Jersey already allows group home cameras when the provider has a monitoring policy approved by the Department of Human Services' Office of Licensing. Sponsor Assemblyman Christopher DePhillips said earlier versions that allowed cameras in private living spaces were narrowed to common areas over privacy concerns. The Assembly Health Infrastructure Committee discussed the bill on Sept. 14 without a vote. DHS declined to comment on the pending bill.
Why this matters for providers and DSPs
For agencies, the bill would turn cameras from an optional, licensing-approved policy into a duty triggered by residents and families, with set retention and review rules. For DSPs, common-area video can document good care as well as problems. Catherine Chin of the Alliance for the Betterment of Citizens with Disabilities told News 12 she knows of no proof that cameras prevent abuse. Advocates are calling for votes on both A2705 and S1172.