RELEASE: January 28, 2004

Previous Screen

Pediatricians in 15 counties across New Jersey will provide pre-placement examinations of children who are entering foster care, under an agreement reached with the Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS), Department of Human Services Commissioner-designate James M. Davy announced today.

Pediatric practices were identified by the American Academy of Pediatrics New Jersey Chapter (AAPNJ), and DYFS is working to secure Medicaid approval to pay for the service, Davy said, during a press briefing to report progress on seven immediate actions he ordered Jan. 14.

“I am so grateful for the help of this organization and these physicians,” Davy said. “Children about to enter foster care are in distress; we shouldn’t leave them languishing in emergency rooms for hours waiting for medical exams, unless they have injuries that require that level of medical treatment.”

“We are excited to be partnering with DYFS to develop this important network of pediatricians statewide,” said Dr. Charles Scott, AAPNJ President. Scott said the organization will be working to expand the network of physicians available to do pre-placement examinations to every county in the state.

Davy ordered the immediate actions this month in an effort to improve DYFS while department officials continue to craft a sweeping reform plan for the state’s child welfare system. The plan, required under the settlement of a class-action lawsuit filed by Children’s Rights Inc., is due to be submitted Feb. 18 to the plaintiffs and an expert panel overseeing DYFS reforms.

In addition to the availability of pediatricians in 15 counties, Davy has approved hiring 10 new nurses who can handle medical screenings for children moving from one foster placement to another. Cell phones and pagers have been issued to several DYFS nurses so they can be reached immediately to perform medical screenings when necessary and dozens of other phones and pagers are on order.

Davy offered the following progress reports on the remaining six immediate actions:

• License 100 new foster homes by mid-February.

Status: The DHS Office of Licensing has licensed 67 new foster homes since Jan. 14, and about 100 prospective foster families were designated to undergo home studies beginning this week while they are still in training. Those families – and up to 100 more recent applicants – will be moved onto this “parallel track,” which is expected to dramatically shorten the licensing process.

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

Status: To date, 142 DYFS supervisory staff volunteered to review files on more than 6,000 children whose cases were identified as ones that might be closed safely. Last week, the Department of Personnel approved overtime for DYFS supervisors and casework supervisors, some of whom are not normally eligible for overtime, to review the cases.

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

Status: DYFS created 38 case aide positions and redeployed existing staff to transport children to child care, school, after-school programs, and other places so they do not spend hours in DYFS district offices. In addition, DYFS reached agreements with several after-school programs to serve children who might otherwise spend the afternoon in a DYFS office. “This is a perfect example of changing expectations,” Davy said. “Now that it has been made absolutely clear that it is unacceptable for children to spend hours in a district office, and now that that information is being tracked daily, we are finding solutions to this problem.”

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

Status: There were 21 boarder babies in New Jersey on Jan. 14 when Davy ordered them all placed by Feb. 28. As of today, all but six of those children have been placed.
Last week, two veteran DYFS workers were reassigned to address this issue, one serving as boarder baby coordinator for the Newark area and another stationed at University Hospital in Newark to initiate family team conferencing on boarder baby cases. The first such conference, held last Friday, resulted in a family member taking the baby home and receiving support services from community agencies. Three more conferences were scheduled for today.

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

Status: Beginning tomorrow, DYFS employees will be trained in conducting the safety assessments. Three outside agencies – Youth Consultation Services, Children’s Home Society of New Jersey and Family Services of Burlington County have been contracted to work with DYFS in completing the safety assessments. In addition, 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: Today, 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.

Davy noted that other recruitment efforts are being discussed with the child welfare panel, specifically how to spend $1.5 million for recruitment.

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For additional information on the American Academy of Pediatrics New Jersey Chapter, contact President Dr. Charles Scott at (856) 428-7583.