TRENTON, NEW JERSEY – Families in northeastern Morris County will benefit from a program that was among 28 recognized for outstanding child abuse prevention programs by Human Services Commissioner Gwendolyn Harris and Paulette Moore Hines, chair of the Child Life Protection Commission, at a State House ceremony on May 20.

Among the 2003-2004 grant recipients of the Children’s Trust Fund was the Association for Special Children & Families.  Their Circle of Supports program will receive $24,383 for a third year of funding to serve families who live in northeastern Morris or northern Passaic

Counties. This program works with families of children with disabilities. Through respite and family mentors, families are able to reduce stress. With the assistance of a licensed social worker, families express their needs by developing a Family Support Plan, from which they select three of five components: a family mentor; group or individual parenting sessions; special education advocacy support and training; respite care for the children; and coordination of community services.

Commissioner Harris thanked the programs for their dedication to the prevention of child abuse and neglect. Commenting on the benefit of the Children's Trust Fund grants, she noted, “I am especially pleased to see that most of the money for these grants has come from citizens who generously checked off the donor box on their New Jersey tax returns.”

Each year CTF selects innovative programs structured to prevent child abuse and neglect among high-risk populations. This year, a majority of grantees are utilizing widely recognized standard curricula that have proven to be successful, like Parents As Teachers, Families and Schools Together and the Strengthening Families Model.  Most focus on parent involvement -- a key element for effective child abuse prevention programs as outlined in the New Jersey Prevention Standards.

The Children’s Trust Fund provides funding on a three-year basis with a step down process in the grant amount. During the course of three years, programs must procure additional funding to meet the original amount granted in their first year.  The goal is for programs to work towards independence from CTF funding in order to carry on their program beyond the first three years. Over the past 16 years, $11.3 million have been awarded to agencies within every county of the state. In the 2003-2004 grant year, ten first year programs will receive a total of $449,306, ten second year programs will receive a total of $345,168 and eight third year programs will receive a total of $176,756, for a total of $971,230.

For more information on The Children’s Trust Fund, go to the New Jersey State website at http://www.state.nj.us/humanservices/cap/njcap2.html.