TRENTON – The Office of the State Comptroller (OSC) released a report today finding that the New Jersey Department of Children and Families (DCF) stopped assigning caseworkers to most cases involving allegations of child sexual abuse by non-caregivers and inappropriate sexual activity between children, including child-on-child sexual assault.

OSC initiated this investigation in February 2022 after receiving complaints from members of law enforcement that DCF changed its intake and screening process without notifying them. Under DCF’s own published policies, the agency’s Division of Child Protection and Permanency (DCPP) is required to investigate allegations that a child is being abused, endangered, or threatened, and to take action to ensure the child’s safety.

But OSC’s investigation finds that beginning in early 2020, DCF limited the kinds of cases DCPP would take, without notifying the public, law enforcement, or DCF’s other MDT partners. (MDTs are made up of experts in law enforcement, child protection, mental health, victim advocacy, and substance abuse treatment who are designated by law to work together to respond to and prevent child abuse.)

Under the new approach, callers to the state child abuse hotline reporting sexual abuse by a non-caregiver (e.g., a relative, significant other, roommate, or guest who has access to the child but not an ongoing responsibility to care for them) would be referred to DCF’s Children’s System of Care (CSOC) or community providers to seek help on their own. In most of these cases, no caseworker would be assigned to follow up, investigate or coordinate care. Likewise, most cases involving inappropriate sexual activity between children (including sexual assault) would not receive services from DCPP.

An internal analysis conducted by DCF revealed that over a five-month period in 2021, at least 123 children were reported to the state child abuse hotline as having been involved in inappropriate sexual activity, including child-on-child sexual assaults, without a DCPP caseworker being assigned. Another list, compiled by the law enforcement community and presented to DCF in April 2022, provided examples of over 30 cases of non-caregiver child abuse or child-on-child sexual activity in which DCPP declined to intervene.   

“These findings are troubling,” said Acting State Comptroller Kevin Walsh. “DCF made a significant change in its approach, then kept police, prosecutors, and other partners in the dark. The ramifications of DCF’s decisions were serious for children and the system as a whole.”    

In response to OSC’s investigation and this report, DCF officials repeatedly contended that there have not been any changes to its policies. DCF also asserted that most cases involving child-on-child inappropriate sexual activity and child sexual abuse by non-caregivers fall outside of DCF’s statutory authority. OSC’s investigation found both claims to be unsupportable.

Internal documents showed that DCF engineered the change in policy, was aware that law enforcement and others were concerned about the changes, and yet continued to implement the changes without communicating with law enforcement or the MDTs.

OSC found that DCF has the statutory authority to assist children and families involved in or harmed by child-on-child inappropriate sexual activity and child sexual abuse by non-caregivers. And state policy also requires prosecutors, police, DCPP, and other MDT members to coordinate their response to child abuse. DCF’s failure to notify partners and the public conflicts with its own administrative directives requiring transparency.

DCF said that it developed safeguards to address issues that OSC’s investigation uncovered. OSC has not reviewed these safeguards to determine if they are adequate.

Read the report.

To report government fraud, waste, mismanagement or corruption, file a complaint with OSC or call 1-855-OSC-TIPS.