In January 2003, police found the mummified body of 7-year-old Faheem Williams in a locked basement in Newark, next to two brothers who were starving but still alive. Faheem and his family were known to New Jersey’s child welfare system, but with more than 100 children on their social worker registry, no one checked on the boys regularly.
The gruesome discovery made national headlines. It caused then-Gov. Jim McGreevey to settle a federal class action lawsuit filed in 1999 that claimed New Jersey was seriously failing the approximately 10,000 children in its foster care system. The July 2003 agreement called for major structural and programmatic reforms and for an outside expert to monitor states’ efforts, a process that formally ended in March.
Two decades after the original settlement was created, New Jersey is a national leader in child welfare by some metrics, with a child protection system focused on keeping families safely together whenever possible. There were fewer than 3,000 children in foster care at the end of last year, state statistics show, and nearly half of them were living with family members.
When I go to meetings in other states, New Jersey is different, in a positive way, said Mary Coogan, president and CEO of Advocates for Children of New Jersey, a nonprofit organization that has long worked to improve child and family well-being.
Once a landfill
Decades ago, New Jersey’s child welfare system was a dumping ground for all sorts of problems, Coogan said. Regardless of the cause — a mental illness of the mother or addiction, the lack of heat or power that makes a home unsafe; too often the initial response involved removing the child and placing him in foster care, he said. And while such drastic action is sometimes appropriate, she and others said it’s always traumatic for those involved.
Now everyone is focused on: How can we keep children from entering care? keeping them safe at home, said Coogan, who co-chairs a group tasked with continuing to oversee aspects of those reforms. Much remains to be done and everyone has a role to play, he added, noting that state and local governments, nonprofits, faith-based organizations and others are needed to help communities thrive.
Christine Norbut-Beyer, commissioner of the Department of Children and Families, which oversees New Jersey’s child welfare system, called the evolution of an iterative reform journey that began under her predecessors required the support of legislators and state leaders and was powered by a dedicated workforce. The change involved a focus on prevention, he said, with new programs designed to address family violence, maintain stable housing and address children’s behavioral and medical needs.
We have effectively reformed our system from one that was under-resourced, overburdened and dysfunctional to the gold standard in child and family care systems across the country. — Commissioner Christine Norbut-Beyer, Department of Children and Families
Working together, we’ve accomplished a lot for New Jersey families, including the lowest rate of family separations in the country, one of the lowest rates of child abuse and repeat abuse in the country, Norbut-Beyer told members of the Budget and of the Appropriations of the Assembly. Committee last week during a hearing on the departments’ proposed budget, which lawmakers must approve as part of the state’s overall budget by July 1.
‘gold standard’
We have effectively reformed our system from one that was under-resourced, overburdened and dysfunctional to the gold standard in child and family service systems across the country, he said. Nearly 145,000 children were served in some way by the department last year, 97 percent in their homes, state statistics show.
Norbut-Beyer said challenges remain, such as the need to reduce deep racial disparities in child welfare interventions, an issue across the country. In New Jersey, black children are four times more likely to be placed in protective care than white children, and Hispanic children are twice as likely, according to budget documents. Black children make up 14% of states’ 18-and-under population, but make up 31% of states’ child welfare caseloads.
The reforms involved both structural revisions and philosophical changes.
While some changes were swift and showed promise almost immediately, according to early reports from the state-appointed monitor, others took time and involved legal challenges. But in 2018, the state was outperforming national standards on some measures, and the monitor praised its work to continue to protect children during the COVID-19 pandemic. The federal court case was settled last fall, ending the monitor’s job, and March marked the last chance to appeal.
As the Monitor concludes its role in New Jersey, it’s important to emphasize how far the state has come in its reform efforts, says the final report from the Center for the Study of Social Policy, the national nonprofit of profit that the court used to oversee New Jersey. reforms The group said the Department of Children and Families has not only met the requirements of the lawsuit settlement, but is continuing its deep commitment to being an agile, self-correcting organization that no longer needs federal oversight.
DCF has made great strides to achieve better outcomes for children and families, ensuring families experience service excellence and working to fulfill its vision that all New Jersey residents are safe, healthy and connected, she says the report
How the system was reformed
The reforms involved both structural revisions and philosophical changes. In 2006 the state created the Department of Children and Families as an autonomous cabinet-level agency responsible for child protection. He moved the Division of Youth and Family Services, known in communities as DYFS, and two related units into the new department and significantly increased funding for that work. Previously, the three divisions were part of the massive Department of Human Services, where critics said those divisions had lacked resources and leadership.
The state also took critical steps to expand its child welfare workforce, essential to reducing caseloads, a major concern for the state-appointed monitor, improving training, focusing on best practices and providing staff with additional resources such as flexible funding and stronger social network connections. service organizations that could help stabilize struggling families.
The system, with all its partners, has become stronger and better. It’s not perfect, but these partnerships show that by working together you can strengthen a family and keep it together. – Mary Coogan, Children’s Advocates of New Jersey
Another change was in the departments’ response to poverty itself, Norbut-Beyer told lawmakers, a situation that in the past often contributed to the removal of children. Social workers now have more time and better tools to help a family address underlying issues, such as getting the electricity back on or paying overdue rent, changes that make life more stable for the child.
The whole process was very reactive, Coogan recalled. Now the department is looking for ways to keep families intact, which also reduces demand on the child welfare system itself. We’ve narrowed down the funnel [of child removals] and added resources to help families, she said, including a limited amount of emergency funding that social workers can use to help pay for utilities or rent.
New collaborative approach
Coogan said that, especially in some counties, social workers have been empowered to work with a wide range of partners, including attorneys representing parents who may have removed children. While these cases remain conflictual at times, there are also opportunities for collaboration.
The system, with all its partners, has become stronger and better. It’s not perfect, Coogan said, but these partnerships show that by working together you can strengthen a family and keep it together.
Norbut-Beyer is credited with taking steps to support social workers and other staff members, including a mental health program to help them cope with the traumas they regularly experience. He also worked to expand child care options and established dozens of Family Success Centers that serve as one-stop shops for various support services to help families avoid crises.
In Paterson, the New Destiny Family Success Center can help people secure safe and stable housing, pay rent or utility bills and find child care, a doctor or mental health support, said Executive Director Carolyn McCombs . It can also connect families with a food pantry or grants, go online and address domestic violence, she said.
We have countless examples of how we have helped families avoid interventions that could lead to the destabilization of their homes, McCombs said. Ultimately, it is a win for families and their children when they are able to avoid unpleasant interventions that could lead to child and family trauma.
— Letter from Genesis Obando
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