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| The New Jersey Department of Human Services provides various services for children, ages 0-18, to ensure their well being, health and development. These include health care, services for children with developmental disabilities and mental illness, counseling and assistance for families, child care, and other supportive services. Children's services include: The Catastrophic Illness in Children Relief Fund provides eligible families with financial assistance to help them cover medical expenses that were previously incurred because their child became catastrophically ill or injured. Covered expenses for children ages 0 to 21 include, but are not limited to, special ambulatory care, acute or specialized in- or out-patient hospital care, medical equipment, medically-related home and vehicle modifications, home health care and medical transportation. Child care services are coordinated through both the Department of Human Services' Office of Early Care and Education for information, policy and resources; the Division of Family Development for child care operations; the Division of Developmental Disabilities ; and the Office of Licensing in the Department of Children and Families (DCF) – all in cooperation with Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies in every county. Services include information and referral to help parents locate child care resources and to answer typical questions regarding types of child care, how to pay for care, and even how to become family day care and licensed child care providers. The Office of Early Care and Education (OECE) provides telephone assistance and information for parents, licensed child care providers and public schools on issues relating to quality afterschool programs. OECE also serves as a link between the child care community and state government. Child support services are coordinated by the Department to help custodial parents receive child support payments that, for one reason or another, they are not obtaining from the children's non-custodial parent. Children's Mental Health Services are coordinated through both the Department of Human Services and the Department of Children and Families (DCF). Intensive therapeutic placement services for children with severe mental illness may be coordinated through the State Division of Mental Health Services within DHS. Within DCF, the Division of Children's Behavioral Health Services seeks to help emotionally disturbed children and their families get all of the services they need, by coordinating those services for them, across all child-serving systems in the state. Services include, but are not limited to, counseling for both children and their parents, respite care, mentoring and help with educational issues. Food Stamps help eligible New Jerseyans receive benefits to assist them in the purchase of a nutritionally balanced diet. Local County Welfare Agencies determine eligibility. The Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired coordinates and provides preventive, eye health screenings and assessments for children, as well as early intervention services, educational and vocational rehabilitation, annual sleep-away camping for children who are blind or visually impaired, and referrals to other services, as required. Services for children with developmental disabilities are provided to children with spina bifida, cerebral palsy, mental retardation, autism, and traumatic brain injuries. These services include family support programs, counseling, help coordinating in-home care, and some community-based services such as respite care for parents. Services can be arranged through the State Division of Developmental Disabilities and by the Division of Disability Services . The Kinship Navigator program administered by the Division of Family Development (DFD) serves children who have no involvement with DYFS. Kinship caregivers are special people who have taken on the responsibility of caring for their relatives' children - siblings, nieces, nephews, or, most often, grandchildren - providing them with a safe, reassuring environment. DFD offers a variety of support services and financial aid to kinship caregivers, who may be eligible for monthly payments through the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program; and the children under their care may be eligible for Medicaid health insurance. NOTE: DYFS, in the Department of Children and Families (see below), also has a Kinship Care program, which serves children who require other DYFS services. Health care services for children are provided through the NJ FamilyCare program, which helps financially eligible families obtain health insurance to cover the cost of routine physician visits, prescriptions, hospitalizations, lab tests, x-rays, eyeglasses for themselves and for their children and dental care for most children and for some adults. The Office for Prevention of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities is a public educational resource to help educate New Jerseyans about those factors that can cause mental retardation or other developmental disabilities, with a strong focus on prevention. Educational efforts include, but are not limited to, information for pregnant women about substance abuse and its effects on the unborn fetus, dangers of ingesting lead paint, and other environmental causes of disabilities. Resources for Including Children with Special Needs in Child Care have been compiled by the Map for Inclusive Child Care Team . The interagency Map to Inclusive Child Care Team has met regularly since 1997 to discuss strategies for increasing and enhancing the inclusion of children with special needs in child care settings. For more information on the Map Team, contact the Office of Early Care and Education in the Department of Human Services at 609-292-8444.
Please refer to the new Department of Children and Families to access information on the following programs, which were previously under the Department of Human Services: DHS' Office of Children's Services has moved to create the new DCF, including the: • Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS) • Division of Child Behavioral Health Services (DCBHS) • Division of Prevention and Community Partnerships (DPCP) • Office of Education (OOE) • New Jersey Child Welfare Training Academy .
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