RELEASE: May 12, 2004

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Davy announces Hispanic foster home recruitment initiative
Hispanic Advisory Council also created

PASSAIC — Department of Human Services (DHS) Commissioner Jim Davy announced today a series of initiatives to recruit more foster homes for Hispanic children as part of the State’s efforts to reform its child welfare system and improve services to the Hispanic community.

“We are facing a critical shortage of foster homes for Hispanic children. No child should lose their culture- their sense of identity when circumstances require they be removed from their home,” said Commissioner Davy. “We need to do a better job of recruiting foster families in the neighborhoods where children live.”

As part of the announcement observing May as Foster Care Month, Commissioner Davy met with staff and foster families involved in the Hispanic Information Center’s (HIC) foster care program. Under a recent agreement with the Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS), HIC is recruiting 10 additional Hispanic foster homes in Passaic and Hudson counties. Out of the current DYFS caseload of 65,000 approximately 18 percent of the children are Hispanic. Though there are presently 250 bilingual foster homes, there are over 1300 Hispanic foster children.

In addition to the partnership with HIC, Commissioner Davy announced the Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS) would issue a request for proposal (RFP) to develop 15 Hispanic foster homes in Cumberland County at an annual cost of $150,000. More than 20 percent of the children entering foster care in Cumberland County are Hispanic.

“Under Commissioner Davy’s leadership, the Department of Human Services has made great strides in meeting the needs of the Hispanic community,” said Hispanic Directors Association (HDA) Executive Director Daniel Santo-Pietro. “However, more needs to be done and we look forward to working with the Department towards this goal.”

To build on this partnership with the Hispanic community, Commissioner Davy announced the creation of a DHS Hispanic Advisory Council chaired by Rolando Torres, Jr., special deputy commissioner for legal policy and legislative affairs. Consisting of members of the Hispanic Directors Association (HDA), other Hispanic community organizations and the faith-based community, the council will help DHS better focus its efforts in providing services to the Hispanic community.

“Through the establishment of the Hispanic Advisory Council, we hope to be more sensitive to the communities we serve,” said Commissioner Davy. “Only by doing this can we truly make a difference in people’s lives.”

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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