Official Site of The State of New Jersey
We believe that all children have the right to grow up safe, healthy, and connected.
The New Jersey Children's Trust Fund (NJCTF) is a public / private partnership established to fund child abuse and neglect prevention, as well as support abuse identification and treatment programs and research and evaluation efforts in New Jersey. Funds raised through the NJCTF support innovative programming, at the community and statewide level, that allow families to thrive and children to grow up healthy and safe.
The NJCTF is primarily funded through an income tax check-off, allowing state residents to designate a portion of their New Jersey state tax return to help prevent child abuse and neglect within the Garden State. The NJCTF is also able to collect private and corporate donations to fund innovative child abuse prevention projects. The New Jersey Task Force on Child Abuse and Neglect (NJTFCAN) – a partnership of stakeholders with representation from government, non-profits, and children’s advocacy organizations – is responsible for overseeing the NJCTF and approving expenditures from the fund.
How You Can Help
Everybody in New Jersey has a role and the ability to participate in efforts to keep children safe, healthy, and connected and to keep families strong and nurturing. By investing in children, you are investing in the future of New Jersey.
- Individual Donors: Please consider a one-time gift to the NJ Children's Trust Fund when preparing your state income tax return. You can also donate via credit card and electronic check (eCheck) at https://nj.accessgov.com/dcf/.
- Corporate and Foundation Donors: Please contact DCF-NJCTF@dcf.nj.gov to learn how you can contribute to efforts to prevent child abuse in New Jersey.
- Volunteer: To be a part of the effort to raise awareness and funds for the NJCTF, contact us at DCF-NJCTF@dcf.nj.gov.
The New Jersey Task Force on Child Abuse and Neglect is pleased to announce that the application window for NJCTF Community-Based Prevention Mini-Grants is now open!
Four grants of up to $25,000 each will be awarded to eligible organizations with annual operating budgets of less than $3 million. The application window opens on October 15, 2026 and closes on November 15, 2026; applicants can apply at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NJCTF-Minigrants-2026
The grants are intended to reach organizations and initiatives that may not traditionally receive state funding and to strengthen community-based efforts that support children and families. The mini-grants may be used to fund prevention efforts such as special events and activities, evaluation and research, and public awareness initiatives. The funding is intended as a one-shot with limited opportunities to reapply and may not be used to support staffing needs.
Applications will be reviewed and awardees will be selected by a formal evaluation committee made up of NJTFCAN and subcommittee members. Proposals that incorporate evidence-based practices and protective factors that are known to strengthen families will receive enhanced consideration.
Applications are due by November 15, 2026 and will be announced in January 2027.
To access the grant application details, requirements, and to apply, visit https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NJCTF-Minigrants-2026.
New Jersey's Children's Trust Fund (NJCTF) was established by law in 1985 (NJ Rev Stat § 54A:9-25.4) as a means of funding child abuse and neglect prevention initiatives. New Jersey was among the first states to implement a trust and prevention fund for child abuse and neglect; Kansas was the first state to do so in 1980, and today, every state, Puerto Rico, and Washington D.C. have a legislatively created children’s trust fund.
The idea to establish a dedicated funding source for child maltreatment prevention was originated by Ray E. Helfer, a Michigan pediatrician and Vice President for the National Committee for the Prevention of Child Abuse, who reasoned in 1979 that other dedicated funds already existed to support our nation’s highways and transportation infrastructure, wildlife conservation, and open space protection. Dr. Helfer argued that the care and protection of our nation’s children was just as important a goal.
Children's trust funds vary from state to state in how they're organized, how they're funded, and what prevention initiatives they support. The one constant is the drive to protect children from abuse and neglect, and the opportunities for partnership between diverse corporate, governmental, philanthropic, and individual stakeholders to see that vision become a reality.
Nearly every state, including New Jersey, is a member of the national Children’s Trust Fund Alliance, which advances best practices in the development and use of charitable dollars in order to support child maltreatment prevention initiatives.
