NEW JERSEYS CHILD WELFARE REFORM PLAN

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NEW JERSEYSCHILD WELFAREREFORM PLAN
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Charlie and Nadine H. v. McGreevey (Class Action)

• An organization called Childrens Rights, Inc.,
  based in New York City,
• filed a class action law suite in August 1999
• in federal court
• on behalf of several children in the care of
  DYFS
• for declaratory and injunctive relief
• in an effort to have DYFS live up to its
  Constitutional and statutory responsibilities
  toward the children in their care.

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A New Beginning The Future of Child Welfare in
New Jersey

• Governor McGreevey took a real interest in
  reforming the child welfare system
• McGreeveys office became very involved in
  drafting a final resolution of the law suit
• That resolution is embodied in the DYFS Reform
  Plan, called A New Beginning The Future of
  Child Welfare in New Jersey
• The final version was released in
• June, 2004 and is
• 237 single-spaced pages

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Acknowledges Serious System Deficiencies

• lack of adequate services to support and preserve
  families
• lack of adequate services to help children in
  placement and their caregivers
• lack of adequate, safe foster homes
• failure to provide oversight of the system
• insufficient number of caseworkers and
• overwhelmingly high caseloads.

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Reform

• the DYFS accomplishments to date
• several major topics of reform
• Timeframe for carrying out reforms during the
  period April 2004 to June 2005
• how progress under the plan will be measured,
  including benchmarks.
• the formation of the New Jersey Child Welfare
  Panel to enumerate the elements of the plan which
  will be enforceable with a timeline and some more
  specific measurements.

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Enforceable Elements

• The New Jersey Child Welfare Reform Panel
  released on July 19, 2004
• Specified that it gave top priority to what it
  called the building blocks of the reform plan
• Articulated both strategies and outcomes that are
  expected to be followed
• Broke down the strategies into specific tasks
  with deadlines.

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Enforceable Outcomes

• Decreasing the length of time in out-of-home
  placement for children with a goal of
  reunification
• Decreasing the length of time in foster care for
  children with a goal of adoption
• Increasing the proportion of siblings in foster
  care who are placed together
• Increasing the proportion of children in foster
  care who are appropriately placed with relatives
• Increasing the proportion of children in foster
  care who are placed in their home neighborhoods
• Decreasing the incidence of abuse and neglect of
  children in DYFS out-of-home placement
• Decreasing the proportion of children in DYFS
  out-of-home placement who are placed in
  congregate (group) care settings

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More Enforceable Outcomes

• Decreasing the average number of placement moves
  experienced by children while in DYFS out-of-home
  placement
• Increasing the proportion of both children in
  care and their families who receive the services
  they need
• Decreasing the rate of re-entry into DYFS
  out-of-home placement
• Reducing the number of adoptive and pre-adoptive
  placements that disrupt
• Reducing the proportion of children entering DYFS
  out-of-home placement
• Reducing the recurrence of maltreatment of
  children who have been abused or neglected
• Improving outcomes for African-American and
  Hispanic children in New Jerseys child welfare
  system and
• Increasing the likelihood that youth leaving DYFS
  care at age 18 or older will have adequate
  preparation and support.