Asbury Park Press from Asbury Park, New Jersey • Page 3

ASBURY PARK PRESS SATURDAY, DEC. 28, 2002 Few child caregivers join state aid program they are not poor enough to qualify for the subsidies. A family of four cannot qualify for the program if they earn more than $26,475, while a family of six cannot earn more than $35,535. There are no income requirements if DYFS is involved, but some guardians fear they may lose their food stamps or be asked to pay more for a rent-subsidized apartment because the grants would put them in a higher income bracket. Advocates say it typically takes five months to get into the program.

Once a person seeks to become a guardian, a state- of Human Services, the 56 grandparents and other relatives who became legal guardians are caring for 121 children whose parents are dead, addicted to drugs or alcohol, in jail or sick. An additional 52 relatives taking care of 140 children await their day in court to become legal guardians. Child advocates claim the program is taking longer than expected to screen families and bring them before a judge to become legal guardians. Some grandparents have found the program's requirements to be problematic; others have found THE ASSOCIATED PRESS TRENTON A state program that offers financial help for thousands of child caregivers has signed up just 56 people to be legal guardians. since it was implemented in January, and some critics question whether changes should be made to increase participation.

The Kinship Guardianship program provides a $250-per-child subsidy each month to grandparents or other relatives who become guardians of children whose parents cannot care for them. While the Two autism groups unite in bid to aid research into the disorder Assembly panel OKs plan to study use of death penalty in N.J. The tissue program gives qualified scientists access to post-mortem brain tissue in order to advance research on the developmental neurological disorder. The new collaboration will develop standard procedures for outreach, registration, tissue collection and storage. "In the field of neuroscience, as it pertains to autism research, brain tissue is the most valuable material on the planet, enabling scientists to go far beyond the constraints of other technologies and study autism on both a cellular and molecular level," said Prisca Chen Marvin, president of the alliance.

Autism, usually diagnosed by age 3, leaves children with limited ability to communicate or interact socially. Many obsessively perform repetitive behav program was designed to serve up to 11,000 youths, state officials never estimated how many people would sign up. The program also provides a temporary subsidy for those caring for children after the state Division of Youth and Family Services has intervened to protect a child from abuse. Officials said 894 relatives who care for 1,326 children have taken advantage of the stipend, which runs out after 15 months unless legal guardianship is established. According to the Department Steele's legislation has been modified from an earlier version that recommended a moratorium on executions while, the issue is studied.

Steele's bill now has bipartisan support. Assemblyman Christopher Bateman, R-Somerset, is co-sponsor. There are 14 people on New Jersey's death row. The last execution in New Jersey was on Jan. 22, 1963, when Ralph J.

Hudson of Atlantic City was electrocuted for the stabbing death of his estranged wife. The study commission bill is supported by New Jerseyans for a Death Penalty Moratorium, which has urged state officials to postpone executions while the system is evaluated. The group includes those who are against the death penalty but also has members who favor executions if the system is fair. "We are trying to be reasonable," said group spokeswoman Lois Seeligsohn. "We want to have at least a better look at the system, its flaws and failures." A spokeswoman for Gov.

McGreevey said he supports a study commission. Illinois Gov. George Ryan declared the nation's first death penalty moratorium in 2000 after convictions of 13 death row inmates were overturned. In Maryland, Gov. Par-ris Glendening halted executions while a study was commissioned.

Nationwide, there are more than 3,700 people on death row. Since a 1976 U.S. Supreme Court decision prompted states to draft new death penalty statutes, 773 inmates have been executed, according to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. OPEN NEW announces staff changes THE ASSOCIATED PRESS TRENTON New Jersey hasn't executed anyone in nearly 40 years, but lawmakers want to study how the death penalty works in the state. A bill approved by an Assembly committee earlier this month would create an 11-member commission to study the death penalty whether it is applied fairly, how much it costs, if it is a deterrent to crime and if it should be outlawed.

While bill sponsor Alfred Steele, D-Passaic, is opposed to capital punishment, he said the study is about looking at all aspects of the death penalty, riot just its legality. "I am not asking anyone to take a position on whether they are for or against the death penalty. I am asking them to take a look at the process," Steele said. "That should not be politically threatening." Nine states and the federal government have appointed study commissions since 2000, in response to concerns about wrongful convictions and whether the poor and minorities are more likely to receive the death penalty. New Jersey has looked at the issue before, but this would be the first comprehensive study since the death penalty was reinstated in 1982.

While Gov. Christie Whitman was in office, a death penalty commission recommended ways to streamline the process' to reduce lengthy appeals. The state Supreme Court has commissioned several studies to see if the death penalty is imposed arbitrarily or racially biased, but it found there was not enough evidence to strike down the law. appointed case manager performs a home assessment, a background check including fingerprinting, and searches for the birth parents to see if they object to the legal proceeding. Harry Cassidy, assistant director of the Family Practice Division for the state Administrative Office of the Courts, said his office would work to shorten the time it takes to complete a case.

"I think the implementation (of the program) overall has been positive, although it has taken a little longer to get it started," Cassidy said. iors such as spinning in circles. While the exact cause of autism is unclear, scientists believe there is a genetic component that leaves the brain "wired differently," Andy Shih, director of the alliance's research programs, said yesterday. Determining which genes are involved could lead to a treatment There currently is no treatment for autism other than behavioral therapy programs, which work for most patients and are generally effective only if begun very early, Shih said. While the medical community has learned more about autism in the last decade and no longer automatically lumps Jt together with mental retardation, little is known about adults with autism, and most are institutionalized, Shih said.

will join Amy Mansue, Kevin Hagan and James Gee in that role. Micah Rasmussen, currently communications director for the Transportation Department, will become press secretary. He will share that role with press secretary Kevin Davitt. Jo Astrid Glading, who served as chief of policy and communications, will take a position at the Department of Law and Public Safety. "Shoes For The Whole Familf Orthopedic Fitting aw I I 1 I I I TIT ini nIfUiliMM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS TRENTON Two groups that help autism patients and fund research on the disorder have launched a new collaboration to increase the amount of brain tissue from deceased people with autism that is available for scientific research.

The Princeton-based National Alliance for Autism Research is committing $140,000 for the initiative, a new part of the Autism Tissue Program, which the alliance and the Autism Society of America established in 1998. Under the new collaboration, the alliance will partner with Autism Society of America chapters in Iowa, Maine, Michigan and New Mexico to increase education and awareness about autism and outreach for tissue from deceased patients. McGreevey THE ASSOCIATED PRESS TRENTON More changes in Gov. McGreevey's staff were announced yesterday. Kathleen Ellis, formerly director of state governmental affairs for will serve as communications director.

She CORRECTIONS The Asbury Park Press is committed to fairness and accuracy, and corrects its mistakes ungrudgingly. To request a correction, please call Kathleen Lanini (732-643-4295) or Gary Schoening (732-643-4020) during the day or Judith Feeney (732-643-4005) in the evening. For Sports corrections, please call John Quinn (732-643-4241). YEAR'S DAY will replace Paul Aronsohn, who will be leaving the administration. Eric Shuffler, current chief of staff at the Department of Transportation, will serve as counselor to the governor, responsible for policy decisions.

Karen Kominsky, currently a deputy commissioner at the Department of Environmental Protection, will serve as deputy chief of staff, primarily responsible for legislative affairs. She STATE BRIEFS Giants back plan for Meadowlands site EAST RUTHERFORD: The New York Giants have joined a partnership with Mack-Cali Realty Corp. and the Mills Corp. to propose a $1.3 billion family entertainment center at the Meadowlands Sports Complex. The proposal is one of three that the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, owners of the Meadowlands Sports Complex, is considering for the site.

The Giants' backing of the proposal "sets us apart" from the other proposals, said Mills Executive Vice President Edward Vinson. The center, which would be called Meadowlands Xanadu, would sit beside Giants Stadium and would include a minor league baseball stadium, indoor skiing and surfing, and possibly, a hotel and office complex, Mills Corp. said on its Web site. Codey runs state until Jan. 3 TRENTON: Democratic Senate President Richard Codey will serve as acting governor until Jan.

3 while Gov. McGreevey is out of the state, a McGreevey spokesman said yesterday. McGreevey, his wife, Dina Matos McGreevey, and their daughter Jacqueline, will be on vacation in Florida, said spokesman Micah Rasmus-sen. Law protects tenants in disaster areas TRENTON: Spurred by reports of rent gouging after Hurricane Floyd, a new law makes it illegal for landlords to inflate rent for people seeking shelter during natural disasters. Gov.

McGreevey signed a bill Thursday that could cost landlords who rent-gouge in designated emergency zones a penalty of up to six times the rent charged to tenants. It defines rent gouging as an increase that is more than twice the rate of inflation for the nine months preceding the emergency. The law took effect immediately but does not supersede local, state or federal rent-control provisions. Wire reports 179 Fri. Sat.

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