Posted on May 6, 2019
What’s New?
New Website Provides County Youth Services Information
Posted on May 4, 2019
Research has shown the value of responding to the problems of youth within their own communities. In New Jersey every county has a Youth Services Commission which is required to identify the unique needs of youth in their county, and to develop programs and services to help delinquency prevention, divert juveniles who get into trouble with the law from the court system and to provide alternatives to incarceration as well as services for youth after they are released from state facilities.
County Youth Services Commissions partner with stakeholders and community-based agencies to provide services “that are focused on enhancing and providing opportunities for youth to succeed.” The New Jersey Association of County Youth Services Commission Administrators created a website where you can learn more about what they do, find out how to get involved with your county’s Youth Services Commission and to learn about available programs and services and offered in your county and across the state to help youth.Please check the website out today!
New Jersey is Making Strides in Keeping Children Living in Foster Care Connected to Families
Posted on April 29, 2019
On April 2, the Annie E. Casey Foundation released their data snapshot, “Keeping Kids in Families: Trends in Placement of Young People in Foster Care in the United States,” which provided state-by-state information on the progress of placing children in family-based settings across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Per the data, New Jersey is doing better than most states, with 94 percent of children living in foster care placed with families rather than in residential settings.
The report looked at data from the child welfare system over a 10-year period to see how placements for young people in foster care have changed. They found that nationwide, foster care systems placed 86 percent of these children in families in 2017, compared with 81 percent in 2007.
New Jersey is one of just four states that placed 73 percent or more of teenagers in families in 2017. Nationwide, more than a third of young people in child welfare systems who are 13 and older lived in group placements in 2017 – the same proportion as 10 years ago.
The four-page snapshot details how states can leverage the 2018 federal Family First Prevention Services Act, or Family First Act, to prioritize family placement and encourage high-quality, family-centered settings for even better outcomes. The Family First Act realigns federal funding to prioritize prevention through mental health and substance use treatment, in-home parenting skills training and counseling in order strengthen the family and prevent children from entering foster care in the first place. However, one of the prerequisites to this new use of federal funds is that a state has to significantly reduce its use of residential care, or care outside of a family setting. The Family First Act places restrictions on federal funding for group care, so that only children in critical need of services are placed in group homes. For the past ten years, New Jersey has worked to reduce the number of children in institutional care, an optimal place to start in order to implement the Family First Act.
ACNJ joined the Casey Foundation in calling on child welfare systems to increase available services to stabilize families using the opportunities afforded to them by the Family First Act. States can:
- prioritize recruitment of kin and foster families for older youth and youth of color in recruitment planning;
- engage families in decision-making, since kin and foster parents should be treated as important members of a child’s team; and
- require director approval for non-kin placements.
As stated in the Casey data snapshot, “[t]he Family First Act offers a momentous opportunity for state leaders to reimagine their systems to focus on families and benefit young people.” Given the progress New Jersey has already made in reducing reliance on group home or institution care, we can focus on other aspects of the Family First Act, such as services to keep children safe at home and services to support successful reunification with their parents when children do need to enter foster care. New Jersey’s Department of Children and Families has shown that they are committed to increasing the number of relative or kinship care homes for children who need foster care placements and want to put a greater focus on prevention. We are heading in the right direction. Let’s keep moving!
For any questions, feel free to contact Vice President Mary Coogan at mcoogan@acnj.org.
Advocates rally against census citizenship question ahead of Supreme Court hearings
Posted on April 23, 2019
Yesterday, advocates rallied against census citizenship question ahead of Supreme Court hearings. ACNJ is one of 178 groups urging the Supreme Court to delete the citizenship question from the Census 2020 form. If people aren't counted in #2020Census, our communities will receive fewer funds for critical resources and infrastructure such as schools and hospitals. That's why today’s oral arguments about the citizenship question before #SCOTUS are so important. Visit census2020nj.org to help count all NJ in the 2020 census.
Watch this helpful video from the ACLU to learn why the #Census2020 count is so important, and what adding the citizenship question will mean for our #hardtocount populations.
![youtube-video-thumbnail](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/X7dNTkC4QaM/maxresdefault.jpg)
RWJ report makes policy recommendations to build a culture of health
Posted on April 23, 2019
A new report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation highlights significant disparities related to race, income and geography. Together, these gaps in care take a toll on the health of communities and contribute to the nearly 6,400 unnecessary NJ deaths/year.
On Wednesday, leaders from RWJF and Rutgers gathered in Trenton to release the report, “Building a Culture of Health: A Policy Roadmap to Help All New Jerseyans Live Their Healthiest Lives.” It’s the product of nearly a year’s worth of research and hundreds of interviews with community healthcare providers, patients and other stakeholders.
Read news stories:
- NJ Spotlight: How New Jersey can build a 'Culture of Health' and fill in notable gaps in care
- Asbury Park Press: NJ life expectancy: Find out how long you might live based on where you live
Over the past year, ACNJ's birth-to-3 advocacy agenda has emphasized the need to give every child a healthy start in life to learn and grow. ACNJ's 2018 Babies Count data book on children under age 3 highlighted how far too many of the state’s youngest children face daunting odds that threaten their potential to succeed and thrive. Certain racial groups are especially vulnerable, with significant disparities in child protection and health outcomes.