GOVERNOR TAPS KIMBERLY RICKETTS AS NEXT COMMISSIONER OF THE DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES

Trenton - Governor Jon S. Corzine today tapped Kimberly S. Ricketts to lead New Jersey’s child welfare effort as Commissioner of the Department of Children and Families. Ricketts will replace Eileen Crummy, who has been Acting Commissioner since March.

 “The challenge of protecting our children is one of the most complicated and, without a doubt, most urgent responsibilities of government,” said Governor Corzine. “Kimberly Ricketts is just the person to tackle that challenge and build upon the aggressive reforms implemented by her predecessors, Kevin Ryan and Eileen Crummy. She is an accomplished administrator and I have every confidence that she will be an effective advocate for children and families throughout New Jersey.”

 Ricketts currently serves as the Administrator of the Department of Law and Public Safety.  She previously held a series of government positions including Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs, Executive Director of the Governor’s Task Force on Mental Health and several senior positions at the Department of Community Affairs.  Before joining State government, Ricketts spent 13 years working with children and families in community, behavioral health and social service organizations in North Carolina, Florida and New Jersey.

 “I am humbled by Governor Corzine's nomination,” Ricketts said. “If confirmed by the Senate, I pledge to dedicate all my efforts, energy and enthusiasm to doing the right thing for the children and families of this state.”

 DCF was created in July 2006 by Governor Corzine and the Legislature as New Jersey's first Cabinet agency devoted exclusively to serving and safeguarding the most vulnerable children and families in the state. The action helped to spur the settlement agreement between the Corzine Administration and Children’s Right’s, averting a federal takeover of the State’s child welfare system. 

 In just two year’s, the Department of Children and Families has achieved progress in key priority areas including reducing child welfare caseloads, developing a well-trained workforce, recruiting safer foster and adoptive homes, expanding child abuse prevention and family strengthening services and building capacity in the child behavioral health system. 

 “This continues to be government's most important work,” said former Department of Children and Families Commissioner Kevin Ryan, who is now the chief operating officer to the United Nations Special Envoy for Malaria. “New Jersey's children and families have benefited greatly from Eileen Crummy's remarkable public service career and she will be missed. Kim Ricketts' experience and compassion are most welcome, and
make her equal to the tall task at hand - improving the lives of our kids.”

 “I wish Kim Ricketts great success as she takes the reins at DCF, confident that under her leadership, New Jersey's child welfare reform will continue on its positive path-keeping kids safe and families strong,” said Acting Commissioner Eileen Crummy.  

 Ricketts earned her B.A. and M.Ed. from the University of North Carolina. She is a resident of Highland Park.

DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES ACCOMPLISHMENTS

In just two years, DCF:

• set a new record for the largest number of adoptions ever in a single year for children in foster care: 1540 children adopted, surpassing the target of 1400
  
  
• reduced the backlog of children awaiting adoption by 44% over the last two years
  
  
• licensed almost 1900 new homes in calendar year 2007
  
  

• achieved a net gain of more than 800 foster and adoptive families in a single year: 2007, a four-fold increase over 2006’s net gain of 215 families, marking two years of increasing after three consecutive years of net losses

• streamlined administration and focused resources so that 93% of DCF positions focus on direct care to children

• made remarkable progress in achieving manageable caseloads for caseworkers serving New Jersey’s most vulnerable kids and families, reducing the number of staff with over 30 cases by 95% in one year

• significantly reduced the number of children sent out of state for child behavioral health services by building New Jersey’s capacity to serve our kids here at home

• is building a statewide network of child abuse prevention services, supporting at risk mothers and families  

###


Photos from Governor Corzine's public events are available in the Governor's Newsroom section on the State of New Jersey web page.