RELEASE: February 4 , 2004

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DYFS Reaches Goal of 100 New Foster Homes by mid-February

The Division of Youth and Family Services licensed 107 new foster family and treatment homes in the past three weeks, meeting a goal set by Acting Commissioner James Davy when he ordered immediate improvements to the child welfare system as work continued on a sweeping, long-term reform plan.

Davy also announced that 190 potential foster families have been moved onto a “parallel track” licensing system, under which they undergo home studies while still participating in foster parent training. The system is expected to dramatically shorten the licensing process.

“I am pleased with the results so far, and I believe that this experiment with the parallel track will help us license and open quality foster homes much more quickly than in the past,” Davy said. “We need these kinds of innovative ideas if we are going to give DYFS more resources and take the strain off our foster care system.”

The goal to license 100 new homes by mid-February was one of seven immediate actions that Davy ordered on Jan. 14 while DHS officials continue working on a comprehensive reform plan for the state’s child welfare system. The plan was required under the settlement of a class-action lawsuit filed by Children’s Rights Inc. on behalf of New Jersey’s foster children.

The plan is to be submitted Feb. 18 to the plaintiffs and an expert child welfare panel overseeing the DYFS reforms.

Davy provided the following progress report on the additional six immediate actions:

• Safely close up to 6,000 cases that no longer require DYFS intervention.

Status: To date, 356 DYFS supervisory staff – up from 142 last week -- volunteered to review more than 6,000 cases which were identified as ones that might be closed safely. The Department of Personnel approved overtime for DYFS supervisors and casework supervisors who are not normally eligible for overtime to review the cases. Case workers, who already qualified for overtime pay, also are working on the reviews. So far, 422 of the identified children’s cases have been safely closed.

• Increase transportation and child care services to ensure that foster children do not spend their days in DYFS district offices.

Status: Each of four DYFS regional offices received $250,000 to contract with child care providers and after-school programs so that children would have alternative places to go instead of district offices. Previously, the division had created 38 case aide positions and re-deployed existing staff to transport children to child care, school, after-school programs, and other places.

• End the practice of allowing newborns to remain in hospitals after they are medically cleared to leave.

Status: Davy announced Tuesday that $300,000 in funding is available to expedite home studies of relatives who are willing to care for boarder babies and to purchase cribs, car seats, or other items they might need. Meanwhile, two veteran DYFS workers continue working in the Newark area, which has about 75 percent of the state’s boarder baby cases. One of the workers is stationed at University Hospital in Newark to initiate family team conferences to identify suitable relative homes for boarder babies. Of the 21 boarder babies in New Jersey on Jan. 14 – when Davy ordered that they all be placed by Feb. 28 – four remain in hospitals.

• Redo safety assessments of 6,000 children in out-of-home placement.

Status: More than 400 DYFS staff members and staff from our community partner agencies who will conduct the assessments began training last week. The training regimen is about 30 percent completed, Davy said. When the assessments begin, three outside agencies will work with DYFS workers completing the assessments. Independent entities such as Children’s Rights Inc. and the child welfare panel, administered by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, will spot-check the results.

• Bolster foster parent recruitment and retention.

Status: Officials continue to work with the child welfare panel to develop plans for providing support services for existing foster parents and recruiting new homes in targeted communities. Previously, DYFS signed a contract with the Hispanic Information Center to add 10 foster home beds for Latino children, a crucial need in the state’s foster care system.

• Expedite medical examinations of children going to foster homes and other placements.

Status: DYFS continues to partner with the New Jersey Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics to identify pediatricians who can examine children going into placement. Pediatricians in 20 counties have already agreed to do the medical screenings. DYFS also will hire 10 new nurses to handle medical screenings for children moving from one foster placement to another. The new nurses, and DYFS’ existing nursing staff, have been issued cell phones and pagers so they can be reached immediately to conduct exams when necessary.

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