SOMERVILLE, NJ – The recent negative public opinion toward DYFS has prompted the Somerset Commission on Child Abuse and Missing Children (SCCAMC) to do something positive for its county DYFS workers, so they have planned a Valentine Appreciation Breakfast for Friday, February 14 at 9 a.m. at the Somerset County Department of Human Services Building, 92 E. Main Street, in Somerville, New Jersey.

“Morale has been so low since the sad events surrounding the little boys in Newark, it will be so reassuring for our workers to know that they are appreciated here in Somerset County,” stated Mimi Hickman-Perfetti, Resource Development Specialist in the Somerset County District Office for the Division of Youth and Family Services.

“We want to thank them and encourage them to keep up the good work,” explained SCCAMC chair Kathie Krauth, of Hillsborough, who is the director of Learning Gate Childcare Centers in Bridgewater and Raritan. “The entire Commission [approximately 20 members] wants to thank our DYFS staff and bring some positive recognition to their hard work.” The Commission, which is under the auspices of the Somerset County Board of Chosen Freeholders, has also invited its State legislators to the breakfast.

“Somerset County’s caseload has increased from about 200 cases when I started in 1992, to 903 cases as of January 3rd of this year,” said Hickman-Perfetti. Each case represents a child. The 903 cases represent 478 families. Of the 903 children, 794 are in-home supervisions by DYFS workers and 109 are out-of-home. The out-of-home placements include: 48 in foster care, 13 in kinship care [living with grandparents], 23 in residential treatment centers, 10 in group homes, 7 in children’s shelters, 7 in therapeutic treatment homes, and 1 in independent living [for older children transitioning out of foster care] where they learn self-sufficiency and life skills.

To report an incident of abuse or neglect, call the Child Abuse Hotline number, 1-800-792-8610.

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