Governor Corzine Commends Children and Families for Completing Phase I of Settlement Agreement

TRENTON- Governor Jon S. Corzine today praised the efforts of the Department of Children and Families for completing Phase I of the Modified Settlement Agreement with the federal monitor for the state's child welfare system.

“Protecting our children is a paramount obligation of government even during difficult economic times,” Governor Corzine said. “We must remain ever-vigilant in our ongoing efforts to improve the meaningful protections and services we provide for children and families in need because every child deserves a good home, a bright future, and a healthy mindset.

“The report we received earlier today from the federal monitor highlights the overwhelming progress being made by the staff at DCF in positively implementing Phase I of agreement. I want to thank the leadership of DCF for their extraordinary work in reforming the fundamentals of child welfare in New Jersey.”

Since 2006, the agency has finalized over 4,200 adoptions; decreased the number of children waiting to be adopted by nearly 50 percent; recruited and licensed over 5,200 new foster and adoptive families, reduced the number of children sent out-of-state for behavioral health services by over 75 percent and trained more than 4,000 staff on its new case practice model.

The Governor said that even with the highly-successful completion of Phase I, the Department must remain focused. Implementation of Phase II of the agreement will be even more demanding he said but the work that has been done at the Department of Children and Families since 2006 lays the groundwork for the challenges ahead.

“Thanks to the strong and consistent support of Governor Corzine and the Legislature, a talented leadership team and committed workforce at DCF, New Jersey has sustained its progress and continues this positive reform momentum,” said Commissioner Kimberly Ricketts. “I have the fullest confidence that we can and will meet the challenges that face us. The children and families of New Jersey deserve nothing less than success from this department.”

Under a 2006 federal court settlement between the State of New Jersey and Children's Rights Inc., a court ordered monitor was appointed to oversee the reforms put into place by the Department of Children and Families. The monitor issued its first report on New Jersey's child welfare system in February 2007. This report covers the period July 1, 2008 – December 31 2008.

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Photos from Governor Corzine's public events are available in the Governor's Newsroom section on the State of New Jersey web page, http://www.nj.gov/governor/news/