The NJ DCF Youth Council helps to transform DCF practice and programs and empower youth to take action and make decisions on critical issues. Youth Council Members have accomplished real change: they wrote the Siblings' Bill of Rights which was signed into law by Governor Murphy; they co-designed a peer mentoring program called EnlightenMENT, and they’ve re-designed the NJYRS website, just to name a few. The council operates in cohorts of young people who commit to a 2-year term where they propose and work on projects to create change in NJ’s foster care and child-serving systems. Many of our current graduates are from the Youth Council’s first cohort which began in 2020! All current Youth Council members are graduating from the Youth Council but they will stay connected to the Office of Family Voice and the youth that follow in their footsteps. The Department of Children and Families has been honored to work together with young people to create meaningful change and thank the NJ DCF Youth Council graduates for their unwavering dedication to make the world a better place.  

The Department of Children and Families and it’s Office of Family Voice are dedicated to continuing the impact of the NJ DCF Youth Council. A new cohort of young and innovative minds with lived experience having DCF services will start their journey on the 3rd cohort of the NJ DCF Youth Council in January 2024. 

Thank You to NJ DCF Youth Council Community! 

-NJ DCF Office of Family Voice