NJ Child Welfare Updates

Update from state officials below:


Dear Colleagues,Governor Corzine and I are pleased to share the latest round of data on the child welfare system, which continues to point toprogress in a number of key areas. You can find the new data on our Web site by visiting this link:http://nj.gov/dcf/home/childdata/index.html (if the link does notdirectly open, please cut and paste into your Internet browser).This is our largest single production of data to date, andincludes demographic information on children, substantiation andoutcome data, information on DYFS caseloads for every office in the State, adoption data, and referrals from the hotline to DYFS and the Institutional Abuse Investigation Unit (IAIU).

As many of you know, we experienced our first net gain of 209 resource families in 2006, and we have already surpassed that netgain in the first three months of this year - 331 new families between January and March of this year.Caseloads continue to decline across DYFS. As of March, 60percent of our DYFS offices complied with caseload standards forintake; 68 percent complied with caseload standards for ouradoption practice; and 71 percent complied with caseloadstandards for permanency (ongoing) work. Sixty-five percent of our offices complied with supervisor to staff ratios (5 to 1),not counting the casework supervisors in each office. When thecasework supervisors are included, every office complied. Ourinternal tracking indicates that we will see significantimprovement in every category by July.Another indication of progress in reducing caseloads is thedecline in the number of DYFS staff serving more than 30families. As of this March, 0.7 percent of our staff served morethan 30 families, compared to 6 percent of DYFS staff a year ago.Ten percent of DYFS staff served 21 to 30 families in March ofthis year, compared to 20 percent last year. Forty-nine percentof DYFS staff served 11 to 20 families this March (last year itwas 41 percent) and 40 percent of DYFS staff served one to 10families this March, compared to 33 percent last March. The data indicates modest improvement in placing sibling groups togetherin foster care, and placing children within 10 miles of theirhomes when they are removed from their families. I'm eager to see bigger advances in these areas as we implement the case practice model.

The data also indicates a continued downward trend in the number of children who are abused or neglected in foster care, and asharp reduction in the number of legally free children awaitingadoption from January 2006 to March 2007. There is a lot of work ahead of us, but we're heading in theright direction.

Kevin M. Ryan
NJ Commissioner Department of Children and Families

NJ Troubled Youth Get a Helping Hand from State Program

Youth transitioning from foster care, homeless youth and children with behavioral health needs benefit

TRENTON - Department of Children and Families Commissioner Kevin M. Ryan announced the expansion of residential facilities and services to aid youth who are homeless or transitioning out of foster care, as well as children with highly specialized behavioral health needs. This expanded capacity, working in partnership with the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) and the Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (HMFA), will allow the department to accommodate an additional 200 youth in residential settings and is the state's largest ever one-time expansion.

to view the state's full press release, go to http://www.state.nj.us/dcf/news/press/approved/070502_residentialbedexpansion.html

NJ Kids on Parent's Health Insurance Until 30 Yrs Old

Did you know that New Jersey's insurance law changed and parents can keep their children on their health insurance policies until they are 30? (Note their are some exceptions) See some articles about this topic below. Also see info below about insurance for low income families or people who recently lost their jobs.

The state Department of Banking and Insurance has prepared answers to frequently asked questions about health insurance coverage for dependents to age 30. See the Web site: www.state.nj.us/dobi/dependentsunder30.htm

http://insurancenewsnet.com/article.asp?a=prod_lh&id=73573

http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/60/20030

http://www.larslarson.com/NationalHeadlines/129461.aspx

Parents, are you looking for information on low-cost health insurance for yourselves and your children? NJ FamilyCare provides information that will help you determine whether you qualify for low-cost or no-cost health insurance. You can also download an application or view frequently asked questions. http://www.njfamilycare.org/