Dozens of New Jersey families flocked to the State House Thursday to lobby for the rights of their loved ones in group homes. 

They are calling for lawmakers to pass a bill to protect the elderly and disabled from abuse.

Tom Komninos has spent the last seven years fighting for Stephen’s Law, named for his son who died under the care of a group home. Stephen died 10 years ago when he was left unsupervised against medical orders.

Komninos says the bill aims to bring accountability to group homes and protect developmentally disabled clients.

Parents like Aileen Rivera brought photos of their children's injuries to Trenton.

“My son was the one who told me that he was hurt and he was beat up,” Rivera says. “It made no sense. When I went there I couldn’t believe what I saw. His eyes were black and blue, he had broken molars, herniated discs.”

Under the bill, guardians would have to be notified of injury within two hours. The bill also requires two unannounced inspections of group homes every year.

This is the second attempt to pass the bill. Gov. Chris Christie conditionally vetoed the bill in July. He suggested changes to make it less stringent. He said it didn’t consider the interests of the group homes, for confidentiality and flexibility.

The Cray family also attended the event at the State House Thursday. They say that they praise many of the staff who worked with their son, Billy Cray, 33. 

Billy Cray was found dead in his Somers Point group home a few weeks ago. The family says that they have no reason to suspect foul play, but the history of abuse he'd endured in other group homes only makes the wait for answers more painful.

“We were talking to him on the phone…and we were saying ‘I love yous’ and the next day police officers came to our door to tell us that our son has passed,” says Martha Cray.

The bill passed the state Senate Thursday and has now been sent to Gov. Christie’s desk.