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Report on Progress Being Made by NJ Department of Children and Families

Posted on August 3, 2021

By Legal Intern Kelly Monahan

During the virtual 2021 Summer Forum hosted by ACNJ and New Jersey Department of Children and Families (DCF) on July 14th, DCF Commissioner Christine Norbut Beyer discussed a number of key initiatives aimed at promoting the safety and well-being of children and families in the Garden State. While Commissioner Beyer lamented that these reform efforts were borne out of tragedy, the resulting Modified Settlement Agreement and Sustainability and Exit Plan continue to act as a catalyst and guiding post for positive systemic changes.

As part of the ongoing efforts to address the critical gaps in casework practices, DCF’s Office of Quality began working with consulting firm Collaborative Safety, LLC and adopted and implemented Collaborative Safety in 2019-2020. The Collaborative Safety approach is uniquely tailored for the child welfare sphere by integrating Behavior Analysis science into casework, as well as critical incident review to understand staff’s decision-making and how leadership influences case practices.

According to Collaborative Safety, child welfare agencies need to make three key transitions:

1)  From a culture of blame to a culture of accountability;
2)  From continuously applying quick fixes to addressing underlying systemic issues; and
3)  From seeing employees as a problem to control to a solution to harness.

In its 2021 Annual Progress and Services Report (APSR), DCF outlined its Year 1 updates of its Collaborative Safety implementation efforts during which they:

  • Developed and implemented a safety review tool to monitor the results of the behavior analysis conducted after critical incidents;
  • Established statewide committees to support the critical incident review process; and
  • Implemented the Collaborative Safety approach to review critical incidents in January 2020.

DCF is in the process of collecting additional data needed to identify system components that consistently impact the safety of children and families. The Department is also working to create a database to track and analyze the results of the critical incident reviews to identify specific factors that impact safety outcomes. This effort will increase accountability and enable caseworkers at the Division of Child Protection & Permanency to pivot from a reactive to proactive approach to critical incidents to enhance the safety and well-being of children and families served by the department.

NJ Becomes Second State in the Nation to Establish Statewide Universal Home Visiting Program

Posted on July 29, 2021

Within a year, every New Jersey parent welcoming a newborn into their home will have the opportunity to receive at least one home visit from a nurse within two weeks of their child’s birth at no expense. This is thanks to new legislation sponsored by Senators Ruiz and Vitale, and Assemblywomen Speight and Huttle.

New Jersey is only the second state in the country to offer a voluntary home visiting program for all parents of newborns. Oregon passed similar legislation in 2019. Creating an infrastructure for a universal home visiting system was one of the key goals in ACNJ’s 2020 Unlocking Potential prenatal-to-three plan.

According to ACNJ President and CEO Cecilia Zalkind, “I think back to when I was a new mother and had a community nurse come out, it was very helpful. It really is to see how the family is doing, to offer assistance and to give the parents some assurance that the baby is doing well.”

A universally offered home visiting program for all families will allow new parents to access individualized advice, expertise and support to ensure both parent and child get off to the right start. During such visits, home visitors can assess the health of both the newborn and parent and identify potential health concerns and connect them to appropriate services, provide valuable parenting information and link families with available community services. This strength-based approach to supporting all families will address the period-of-time between the birth of the newborn and the mother’s first visit to the obstetrician at six weeks. Such a proactive approach to supporting new families will reduce potential maternal and infant issues that may arise during this extended period. This legislation is the beginning of a pathway forward that connects every caregiver and child to the healthy future that they deserve.

The Universal Home Visiting Program legislation passed unanimously through both the Senate and Assembly on June 24th and was signed into state law on July 29th. The program will be housed within the NJ Department of Children and Families.

Home Visiting has Served as a Lifeline for Families During the Pandemic and Beyond. Read More.

BLOG: Finally, Health Insurance for All NJ Kids!

Posted on July 27, 2021

In order to build the necessary foundation to thrive and become healthy, productive adults, children and youth need to have access to physical, social and emotional supports. Advocates for Children of New Jersey (ACNJ) has long acknowledged the need for all children to have affordable health care coverage to help make this happen.

Through a public-private partnership, uninsured children have been enrolled in NJ FamilyCare, our state’s public health insurance program funded with federal and state dollars. Through these efforts, there has been a steady decline in the number of uninsured children. Recently, Governor Murphy signed the Cover All Kids bill, which had nearly unanimous, bipartisan support. Once fully enacted, this bill will remove the final barriers to cover all kids.

During Phase 1 of the bill passage, the 90-day waiting period for coverage to children will be eliminated. Premiums for income-eligible families, which have not been required since the COVID-19 shutdown as a result of the federal American Rescue Plan, will be eliminated as well. The bill also provides funding for targeted outreach to children who are currently eligible for coverage, but not enrolled. Nearly 53,000 children will benefit from these efforts alone. The FY2022 budget includes $20 million towards this phase of the two-year campaign.

Phase 2 of the Cover All Kids Campaign includes providing coverage options for children of undocumented status and those whose families’ incomes exceed NJ FamilyCare eligibility but still find coverage to be unaffordable. Currently, NJ FamilyCare covers children in families with incomes up to 355 percent of the federal poverty level ($7,840/month for a family of four).

At the end of the Cover All Kids Campaign, the Murphy Administration predicts that nearly 90,000 children will have access to medical coverage.

When children have health coverage, their parents also gain the peace of mind of knowing that minor problems are less likely to become serious conditions. That’s because children with health coverage are more likely to have “medical homes” where they receive regular, ongoing treatment for chronic conditions, such as asthma.

New Jersey and the federal government are offering more assistance to help lower the cost of health insurance. Families without health insurance should visit www.njfamilycare.org to check if they are eligible for coverage. NJ FamilyCare also provides coverage for very low-income parents and single adults. Those not qualifying can learn about other options at www.GetCovered.NJ.gov.

Every Moment Counts New Jersey’s Blueprint to Census Success in 2020

Posted on July 22, 2021

New Jersey's effort to ensure a complete count in the 2020 Census was a great effort that involved the State, funders, and grassroot organizations. As we look to the 2030 Census, ACNJ, along with The Fund for New Jersey and the New Jersey Department of State, developed this report to document all our 2020 Census accomplishments and campaign materials. We hope that this report can be used as a tool to prepare for the next decennial Census to help facilitate a focused and effective campaign. We encourage you to share these resources far and wide.  Read the Executive Summary below.

Download the Report
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Parents Share Child Care Recommendations at Strolling Thunder NJ

Posted on July 19, 2021

Thank you to parents across the state for attending Strolling Thunder NJ 2021 and giving their voice to a reimagined child care system in New Jersey. More than 60 parents participated in the event on June 9th. In addition to a parent panel discussion, small group breakout sessions were facilitated by parents to discuss critical issues of access, affordability and quality of child care.

Missed Strolling Thunder 2021? Click Here to Rewatch the Event!
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We have shared their input with Acting Commissioner Adelman from the New Jersey Department of Human Services, the department that manages the child care subsidy program and Grow NJ Kids, our state’s quality and improvement rating system.

Here's what NJ parents said:

Make child care more affordable. Ideally child care should be free to all families who need it. Many parents compared child care to the public education system and urged that it be funded the way schools are funded. At minimum, income eligibility for subsidized care should be expanded, making more families eligible for assistance. A sliding fee scale should be developed to assist families at higher income levels.

Increase child care subsidy rates to increase the supply of quality child care. Additional funding to increase subsidies will increase the supply of centers that accept subsidy and provide quality care, especially for infants and toddlers. This will expand the parent’s ability to find quality child care.

Pay early childhood educators more. Expanded funding for early childhood educators would help assure program quality and reduce staff turnover. Additionally, pay family members who are providing care for children beyond the current funding for FFN care.

Ensure program flexibility and diversity. More child care is needed offering flexible hours as well as a culturally congruent curriculum, especially for learners whose primary language is not English.

Improve information systems so that they are less burdensome and more accessible. Easier to navigate systems (people, processes, technology) are needed to help parents apply for subsidies or find quality centers. Referral to a website is not enough. Parents need help in finding child care and entities to provide that help, like the child care resource and referral agencies, must be supported to provide that assistance.

Address learning gaps due to COVID. Acknowledge that children ages 0-3 have "lost" educational skills and developmental delays due to COVID and greater public investment will be needed in order to close their learning gaps and social/emotional developmental needs.

Change the negative image of subsidized care. Address the perception that subsided care equates to lower quality care. Many parents either stated this or reflected this sentiment in their comments.

 

Missed Strolling Thunder 2021? Click Here to Rewatch the Event!