More than 6,500 children in New Jersey were removed from their families in 2020.
The fate of these children rests on a child welfare and foster care system that is not only functional, but also responsive to their needs and in tune with the latest public health research.
Working with interested fundholders at the Community Foundation, we’ve seen the good and the bad on this issue. We’re pleased to share four interventions that work. Scroll down for each.
The Good News: NJ’s a National Leader
Our partners at Power Families, Powerful Communities explain that New Jersey’s state Department of Children and Families has been working on system reform since 2003, and in more recent years, on wholesale transformation. Its vision for New Jersey is that every resident is safe, healthy and connected.
The Bad News: The System is Still Flawed
The child welfare system relies on separating children from families. Research from Power Families, Powerful Communities shows this leads to:
The current system also creates disproportionately negative outcomes for Black and Indigenous families and families of color. BIPOC children are removed from their families at higher rates, stay in out-of-home care longer, and have lower rates of reunification with their families.
Interventions That Work
Powerful Families, Powerful Communities
One of the most effective advocacy organizations in the child welfare space is housed right here at the Community Foundation of New Jersey: Powerful Families, Powerful Communities. Their goal is an audacious one: obsolete the need for non-kin foster care. To that end, they’re designing a family and community-driven model that spurs disruptive innovation. Community members, families, and advocates become active participants in system design and accountability, putting the power of authoring and making decisions about the future in their hands.
Safe Babies Court
Of the 6,500 children in New Jersey removed from their families in 2020, more than a quarter of them were younger than three years old. A child’s first three years are the most important in their life for brain development and building emotional connections. It is a time when healthy, stable relationships are critical, and when targeted, compassionate interventions can make a lasting impact. Safe Babies Court connects children ages 0-3 and their families to the services and support they need. The goal is for children to maintain healthy development and have lasting permanency, specifically family reunification, whenever safely possible. With funding from the Community Foundation of New Jersey, Passaic, Essex, and Hudson counties were awarded to be the first three sites in New Jersey to pilot the Safe Babies Court program. We hope to expand the program into additional counties in the future.
Roots & Wings
Roots & Wings is popular among fundholders at the Community Foundation and they target a very specific and important part of the foster care ecosystem: youth aging out of foster care. According to Roots & Wings, the young people they serve have lived in as many as 20 out-of-home placements before the age of 18. Almost all have endured unimaginable forms of physical, sexual, emotional abuse and neglect. Without an effective intervention such as Roots & Wings, their outcomes are extremely bleak.
Price Family Fellows at Rutgers
The Price Family Fellows is a Rutgers University-based supportive program for students already accepted into the University on the New Brunswick campus who are current or former foster care youth with experience in the child welfare system as an adolescent. Youth take part in life skills workshops, research, and goal setting for financial and personal needs.
This includes, but is not limited to:
- A nurturing environment where fellows can expect to receive quality and supportive coaching on a one-on-one basis
- Educational workshops to help fellows realize and work towards their educational, career, and personal goals
- Housing and food stipends for each fellow during school break periods, if needed
- A textbook stipend to assist with the purchase of text books and related academic materials
- A laptop for academic, professional, and personal use for new Price fellows
- A research fellowship allowing each fellow to engage in original research under the mentorship of a Rutgers University faculty or staff member, or an internship related to the career interests of our students