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2222 South
Warren Street FURTHER INFORMATION:
TRENTON – Department of Human Services (DHS) Commissioner James M. Davy today launched a marketing and outreach campaign “Be a superhero. Be a foster parent.” to help the Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS) recruit 1,000 resource/foster homes this fiscal year. “For our foster children who have experienced so much abuse and neglect in their young lives, our foster parents answered their call in a time of need,” said Commissioner Davy. “Our foster parents truly are superheroes.” The new $1.4 million marketing and community outreach campaign will assist DYFS in its efforts to conduct resource family recruitment on a more community-based, grass roots level. In addition to a traveling recruitment mobile, the marketing campaign will be featured in local newspapers, bus stops and brochures and posters. Radio and television commercials will begin running in the next several weeks. “With the support of our community partners and the faith-based community, we have been quite successful in developing new homes,” said Commissioner Davy. “With their continued support and this new marketing campaign, we hope to build on our success and meet our goal of 1,000 new homes.” Earlier this year, the Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS) announced $1.6 in additional funding to partner with community agencies to develop 145 new resource families in targeted neighborhoods throughout the state. In addition, the new resource homes serve specific high need populations including adolescents, boarder babies and Hispanic children. As part of the State's child welfare reform plan, additional steps are being taken to provide foster parents with the necessary supports and services they need to properly care for children. Highlights include: • New resource family caseworkers- caseworkers assigned specifically to foster families who will work on their behalf to cut through the bureaucracy. • Launching a $1 million partnership with the Department of Community Affairs shortly to assist foster families with home repairs so they can maintain their license. • Equalizing kinship/relative payments with foster care board rates – ranging from $435 a month for children under the age of five to $695 for teenagers. • Increasing all board rates in January with subsequent increases to equal the federal standards set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture on how much it costs to raise a child. • Providing an additional $2 million to expand support services such as respite care, child care and counseling to foster parents. “Our success depends on our resource families,” said Commissioner Davy. “Without their support and dedication, our reform efforts would not be possible.” To learn more about foster parenting in New Jersey , call toll free 1-877-NJ-FOSTER or visit www.njfostercare.org .
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