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January 2013

Child Protection Reforms Fall Short on Engaging Families

The most recent report from the court-appointed monitor of New Jersey’s child protection reforms found that the state still has a long way to go before it is effectively helping families address abuse/neglect concerns.

The monitor again found that caseworkers frequently failed to craft case plans within the required 30 days, were not regularly holding  “Family Team Meetings,” did not meet with parents of children in foster care often enough and did not ensure that children in care visited their parents at least once a week.

Department of Children and Families Commissioner Allison Blake said efforts will be intensified to address these issues.

Read the monitor’s report.

NJ Earns Bonus for Insuring Children

New Jersey will receive about $22 million in performance bonuses for enrolling more children in the state’s health coverage plan, NJ FamilyCare. New Jersey is one of 23 states to receive the bonus.

This is great news for NJ kids and it reflects our collective efforts to identify and enroll uninsured children. Thanks to those efforts, thousands more New Jersey children now have the health coverage they need to stay healthy, in school and on the path to a productive adulthood.

The finish line is getting closer. Please continue to spread the word about NJ FamilyCare to your friends, colleagues and others. For enrollment information and flyers, visit njfamilycare.org.

Preschool Funding Likely to Survive

Preschool funding will likely be preserved for thousands of NJ children. In Education Commissioner Cerf’s recently-released school funding assessment, he recommends that New Jersey’s model preschools be fully funded under the current school funding law.

The commissioner also plans to study the current preschool funding formula to ensure it provides enough dollars to maintain the high-quality of these preschools. This is especially important since so many preschool providers have lost funds because of stricter eligibility requirements for before- and after-preschool care (known as wraparound).

ACNJ and its many partners teamed up to raise this issue for kids – and it worked! 

Your efforts paid off.

In case you missed it…ACNJ released a report calling for stronger protections for infants and toddlers who are victims of abuse and neglect. The report garnered significant media attention. We will follow-up with DCF Commissioner Blake to ensure the recommendations are implemented. We’ll keep you updated.

Read the report.

View media coverage.

In This Issue

DCF Monitor's report latest findings
NJ receiving $22 million bonus
Preschool funding
Stronger protections for youngest victims of abuse

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Advocates for Children of New Jersey relies on the generous contributions of individuals, corporations and foundations to support our work.

Advocates for Children of New Jersey
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(Between Bleeker St. and Central Ave.)
973.643.3876 I Fax 973.643.9153 I www.acnj.org 
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