RELEASE: June 9, 2004

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Human Services and Center for Children’s Support announce new partnership for abused children

STRATFORD — As part of the state's efforts to reform its child welfare system, Department of Human Services (DHS) Commissioner Jim Davy and the Center for Children's Support at UMDNJ's School of Osteopathic Medicine announced a new partnership today to improve and expand services for abused children in New Jersey .

“Unfortunately, we can do everything in our reform plan and there will still be children abused,” said Commissioner Davy. “We must do everything in our power to protect these children and insure they will never be hurt again.”

Each year over 7,900 children in New Jersey are victims of abuse and neglect. To assist the State's child abuse efforts, four regional diagnostic treatment centers (RDTCs) were created in 1998 to provide services to child victims and assist in the investigation and prosecution of child abuse cases. The RDTCs also serve as a resource to educate the community and professionals about issues related to child abuse and neglect.

As part of the announcement, Commissioner Davy committed $1.5 million to the Center for Children's Support to help establish NJ CARES (Child Abuse Research Education and Service) Institute. The new funding will be used to research best practices nationally and create protocols for treating abused children at the four regional diagnostic treatment centers in the state. This will help the Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS) improve investigations and case practice - assuring children receive the medical and mental health diagnostic and treatment services they need in a consistent manner statewide.

“The Institute will create an important partnership that will strengthen New Jersey's child protection system by working collaboratively with DYFS to develop a better understanding of how medical and mental health diagnostic and treatment expertise can be integrated into the fabric of decision making in the earliest aspects of case investigations, resulting in better case management, improved outcomes and client satisfaction,” said Martin A. Finkel, D.O., medical director and co-founder of the Center for Children's Support.

The additional funding will also allow the Center for Children's Support to expand services in South Jersey by establishing a satellite office and adding mental health clinicians so the waiting list for mental health services can be reduced. NJ CARES will also help train DYFS staff and other professionals in recognizing the medical/mental health needs of children and families.

Professional development opportunities will also be created for professional pre and post doctoral training programs for psychologists and social workers to increase the number of mental health providers serving children and families. Internships will also be offered as well as a two year fellowship in child abuse and neglect for pediatricians who can in turn staff the RTDCs. Currently, there is a shortage of trained clinicians within the state.

“Providing the right treatment is so important when dealing with an abused child,” said State Senator Wayne Bryant. “The NJ Cares Institute is an excellent example of how the state and community can work together to protect our children.”

In addition to the Center for Children's Support serving South Jersey , the other RTDCs are located in Newark , New Brunswick and Hackensack .

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