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Interesting article. A report says the organization is doing well in some areas, but not others.
[URL="http://http//www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/12/dyfs_fails_to_do_required_work.html"]http://http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/12/dyfs_fails_to_do_required_work.html[/URL]
Here are the first few paragraphs...
Most of New Jersey's foster children get routine medical care, are more likely to live in a family home than a group home or institution, and wait less than a year to be adopted once a new family is found for them, according to the latest court-ordered monitoring report grading the state's child welfare system. But for the third consecutive monitoring period spanning 18 months, the Division of Youth and Family Services has failed to do the work critical to returning foster children to their parents. According to the report released today:
Only half of the roughly 7,800 children living in foster homes had a plan within a month that mapped out how they would be reunified with their families, far short of the federal court's goal of 95 percent.
Օ DYFS workers conducted periodic "family team meetings" a nationally accepted strategy of convening parents, relatives, therapists and other people close to the child to discuss how to stabilize the family ח 27 percent of the time. Meetings were expected to be held with 90 percent of families.
Just 18 percent of children in foster care visited with their parents at least every other week. The court had expected 85 percent of children to see their parents, as the vast majority of children leave foster care after their parents have demonstrated their fitness and ability to provide a stable and safe home.
That is seriously appalling. I mean, great that they're keeping them out of group homes and children's shelters (we aided in one of those cases, actually) but holy moly--the percentages of kids without appropriate visitation is insane!
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