State of New Jersey | Department of Children and Families

Why was DCF created ?
Does this mean creating the new department cost a lot of money for the state?
Who is in charge of deciding what services stay in DHS and move to DCF?
How does this affect the Child Welfare Reform?
What services are still at DHS?
What will happen to the families and children that will be involved in multiple services housed in both DHS and DCF (such NJ FamilyCare or TANF)?

Why was DCF created ?
For several years now, New Jersey has been struggling to fix its child welfare system and making national headlines with stories of how that system has tragically failed children and families who depended on the state for support and protection. Many good efforts by staff at all levels of New Jersey’s Department of Human Services (DHS) and a substantial dedication of new state funding to implement a court-ordered reform plan have in the past fallen short of producing the safety net and support system the state must provide our most vulnerable residents. A critical piece – although not a panacea – to achieve meaningful change was to create an organizational structure that makes sense. As such, Governor Corzine created the Department of Children and Families (DCF) to focus squarely on the needs of kids and families.
Does this mean creating the new department cost a lot of money for the state?
Governor Corzine was committed to using existing resources to create the new department and merely carved out the existing budget and programs under the old DHS Office of Children Services. Many of the new dollars reflected in the DCF budget are simply funds shifted from the Department of Human Services. These funds support operations such as institutional abuse investigations and Human Services police that were already serving the child welfare programs but were not specifically noted in the budget for the Offices of Children Services. As such this shift of funding from DHS to DCF does not result in an increase or decrease in services in either department.
Any costs to set up logistically the new DCF have been offset by cost savings achieved through greater efficiencies created with existing resources.
Who is in charge of deciding what services stay in DHS and move to DCF?
To ensure the most effective and efficient delivery of services for all of New Jersey’s Human Service clients, Governor Corzine formed a Policy Advisory Council on Human Services Restructuring to assess and make recommendations for any additional changes that should be made in state’s current systems – beyond carving out child welfare programs from DHS. This Council has been gathering input from the general public, experts in the fields, affected families and service providers in order to provide a more informed set of recommendations to the Governor.
How does this affect the Child Welfare Reform?
The creation of a new department is not a separate philosophy from the reform efforts. It is an extremely critical piece – although not a panacea – to achieve meaningful change. There needs to be an organizational structure in place that makes sense to help foster the reform efforts. DCF has been refocused on the fundamentals of child welfare and prioritizing the necessary steps to reach our ultimate goals of protecting kids and strengthening families.
What services are still at DHS?
DHS will remain committed to the core programs and services provided to some of the most vulnerable residents in New Jersey. DHS will be a more streamlined organization, allowing it to provide more focused attention on its services for people with developmental disabilities and mental illness; people with physical disabilities; those who are blind, visually impaired, deaf or hard of hearing; people in need of addiction services; and people in need of affordable health care and other welfare services, such as food stamps, emergency assistance and unemployment support.Visit the DHS web
What will happen to the families and children that will be involved in multiple services housed in both DHS and DCF (such NJ FamilyCare or TANF)?
Families that are served by such programs as Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), Medicaid, NJ Family Care, child support, food stamps, etc. will receive the same services that they have always received. There will be no change whether those divisions are part of DHS or DCF. The programs, services and points of service will remain the same.