Currently, 371 New Jerseyans with disabilities are in out-of-state facilities, and the Christie administration wants to bring them back to the Garden State. 

But State Sen. Bob Gordon said their families couldn't find the level of care they require if they returned home, and he alleged the promise of federal money was behind the governor's proposal. 

“The state wants to move them back to New Jersey because if they do they will be able to get a matching federal grant that matches the state Medicaid contribution for these people,” Gordon said. 

During a six-hour hearing on the policy, the deputy commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Human Services said 170 individuals with disabilities have been successfully placed back in the state since 2009. With their return, a department spokesperson said, $22.8 million “was reinvested in New Jersey community services for people with developmental disabilities.”

Republican Gov. Chris Christie vetoed a bill that would have imposed a moratorium on the policy, called Return Home New Jersey. Gordon, a Democrat, is hoping to find enough Republicans in the legislature to support an override.

"This policy is creating much anguish and heartache among the families of those affected," he said.