FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 13, 2007

CONTACT:  609-633-8507 Kate Bernyk

DCF DEDICATES $2.3 MILLION TO EXPAND NEW INITIATIVE FOR
FAMILY SUPPORT SERVICES

Middlesex, Union County added to Differential Response Pilot Initiative

TRENTON – Department of Children and Families (DCF) Commissioner Kevin M. Ryan announced today the Differential Response Pilot Initiative – an initiative designed to provide access to voluntary support services to strengthen families and help prevent child abuse and neglect – will be expanded from South Jersey to include Middlesex and Union counties.

"We want to help children and families before abuse or neglect occurs," Commissioner Ryan said. "We look to continue expanding this program across the state to strengthen more families."

The initiative, first announced in April 2007, has been operational for two months in four pilot counties: Camden, Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem. The new counties will each receive $1.15 million to develop the pilot program in their area of the state.

The Differential Response approach seeks to engage families who call or are referred to the New Jersey child abuse and neglect hotline when they need social services and no issues of child abuse or neglect are suspected. In just the first half of this year, DCF received approximately 7,000 calls to its statewide hotline that did not involve abuse or neglect, but were related to families needing or requesting assistance.

Differential Response will be especially important in areas where issues of poverty continue to challenge the stability and well-being of children and families. The child poverty rate in cities of Union and Middlesex County like Elizabeth, Plainfield, New Brunswick and Perth Amboy can be higher than 30 percent, according to the Association for Children of New Jersey's KidsCount reports.

"In areas where kids are living below the poverty line, many families struggling with the stress of meeting the high cost of living in New Jersey are at risk of becoming unglued," said Senator Joseph Vitale, D-Middlesex, chair of the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee. "The Differential Response initiative takes into account the warning signs of child abuse, and seeks to defuse stressful situations for families."

"Today's announcement of the expansion of the Differential Response initiative helps create more engaged communities with stronger families free from abuse. Preventing child abuse is about building a foundation for healthy, stable families who have the tools they need to nurture and love their children in a supportive community," said Assemblyman Joe Cryan, D-Union, chair of the Assembly Human Services Committee.

To select the community-based lead agencies in Union and Middlesex to implement the Differential Response initiative, each county's human services agency will work in partnership with DCF to develop a Request for Proposal that will address the county's specific needs. Once a lead agency is selected, that agency must ensure that all community partners work together as a coordinated service network with effective communication, responsible sharing of case information, and coordinated referrals to services and follow-up with families.

"This initiative will allow us to give the children and families of Union County their best chance for a good life," Union County Freeholder Vice-Chairman Angel Estrada said.

"We are overjoyed by the selection of Middlesex County for inclusion in the expansion of Differential Response in New Jersey," said Middlesex County Freeholder Blanquita B. Valenti. "We are very excited by the opportunity to move forward with the Department of Children and Families in developing an enhanced design and thorough implementation of a collaborative Differential Response initiative in Middlesex County."

Successful Differential Response intervention leaves the family with an established network of formal and informal supports to which the family will have continued access when formal intervention is complete.

In the initial pilot counties, the lead provider agencies have been trained and are currently working to help families since launching two months ago. The DCF central child abuse and neglect hotline has also been engaging in "warm line" transfers to the provider agency when a child's caregiver is the caller or is present at the time the call is made. This helps immediately engage with the person who is requesting help.

 

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