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Home > News > Press Releases > January 23, 2008 - Corzine Administration Achieves Major Increase in New Foster and Adoptive Families
January 23, 2008 - Corzine Administration Achieves Major Increase in New Foster and Adoptive Families
CONTACT: (609) 633-8507 CORZINE ADMINISTRATION ACHIEVES MAJOR INCREASE IN NEW FOSTER AND ADOPTIVE FAMILIES TRENTON, NJ - The New Jersey Department of Children and Families (DCF) announced today a massive net gain of 815 new licensed foster and adoptive families, also known as resource families, in calendar year 2007. The growth marked a nearly four-fold increase from the 2006 net gain of 211 resource families, which followed at least two successive years of net losses in resource families statewide. The Corzine Administration, which has made a priority of child welfare reform, achieved a total of 1,367 new non-kin licensed foster and adoptive homes, surpassing the target set within the Modified Settlement Agreement (MSA) of 1,071 non-kin resource families between January and December 2007. "We are grateful that so many New Jersey families have opened their hearts and their homes to our children," DCF Commissioner Kevin M. Ryan said. "These gains mean we can better serve more of our foster children by offering them homes instead of shelters, placing them closer to their friends and families and with their siblings." New Jersey's success in recruiting and licensing new non-kin resource homes followed a reorganization in 2006 that allocated licensing staff to work more closely with DYFS field staff across the state, streamlining the licensure process and improving the experience of families. DCF also deployed impact teams to local DYFS offices in 2007, consisting of resource family technical assistance experts who support local staff and licensing inspectors in best practices in resource family recruitment and licensing. "Thanks to our incredibly hard-working staff and our partners in the community, we have been able to streamline the process to better serve our children and families," Molly Armstrong, DCF Director of Policy and Planning, said. The largest increase in licensed resource homes occurred in Essex County, which represents 11 percent of the total net increase, with the second largest increase in Camden County at 10 percent. All 21 counties experienced a net increase in 2007. Due to these strategies and improvements, the state broke from its two consecutive years of net losses in 2004 and 2005 - when the state lost more licensed resource homes than it had gained. If you know anyone who is interested in becoming a resource parent, please encourage them to contact us. For more information on foster care and adoption: ### |
