The Office of Family Voice leads fatherhood engagement efforts for the Department, including the Fatherhood Engagement Committee (FEC) and Dads Achieving Dynamic Success (DADS) Council.
DCF’s Fatherhood Engagement Committee (FEC) includes representatives from DCF and other state agencies, community partners and providers, and fathers who have firsthand experience with DCF. The FEC aims to build and sustain momentum for a statewide focus on supporting fathers in their communities and promoting active fatherhood. FEC quarterly meetings are a place for members to coordinate, share resources, and highlight accomplishments and activities that are improving fatherhood engagement across the state. For more information about the FEC or to become a member, please email dcf.officeoffamilyvoice@dcf.nj.gov
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The Dads Achieving Dynamic Success (DADS) Council aims to be a catalyst for systemic change so that NJ DCF staff and its community partners best prioritize and support fathers to the benefit of children and families. Our goal is to elevate the voices of fathers with lived experience to build and advance priorities & recommendations that will impact policy and practice |
The DADS Council works to enhance DCF policy and practice and empower fathers to make decisions on critical issues. The DADS Council is comprised of fathers who have firsthand experience with the child welfare system and who are charged with providing annual recommendations to DCF leadership that impact the department’s approach to engaging fathers. DADS Council recommendations have resulted in the enactment of an Administrative Order that affirms DCF’s commitment to engage fathers throughout Department involvement, and continued work to suspend child support payments for parents when their children enter out-of-home care to reduce financial burdens. DADS Council members have also contributed to the following initiatives:
- Improving child protection policy and practice
- Improving race and gender equity in governed systems
- Improving prevention services
- Improving domestic violence practice and programs
DADS Council members have contributed to concrete change within and outside of DCF, which includes advocating and sharing their lived experience which led to the creation and passing of the Equitable Outcomes in Child Support Collection Act. This legislation, signed into law by Governor Phil Murphy in January 2025, establishes procedures regarding the collection of child support on behalf of children in custody of DCP&P, with the goal to stabilize the family and empower parents to care for their children at home.. To learn more about the DADS Council accomplishments click here.
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To become a member of the DADS Council, one must be the birth parent, legal guardian, or a father figure during the family’s involvement with the Division of Child Protection & Permanency (DCP&P) or have children with prior or current involvement with DCP&P. The DCP&P case must have been opened in the last 5 years.
The DADS Council meets monthly and members are compensated for their time. To become a member of the DADS Council, please click here to access the application.
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