The good news for parents and other caring adults, including foster parents, is that there is much they can do to help influence their children’s decisions about sex. Foster youth say they want to discuss sex, love, and relationships with their foster parents, but some are embarrassed or feel uncomfortable starting the conversation. The same… [read more]

After many years of calamitous economic trends, this year’s KIDS COUNT Data Book reveals some modest but hopeful signs of recovery and improvement for America’s children and families. While the nation certainly has not fully recovered from the recession, we are doing the hard work of digging out and moving ahead.

2019 Kids Count Data Book State Trends in Child Well-Being This 30th edition of the Data Book examines how America’s child population has changed, demographically and geographically.

A Basic Guide to Special Education This guide is intended as a reference for people who have questions about special education for a child. It summarizes the basic procedures, services and rights of children to an education and represents current federal and state laws and regulations. It is not intended to offer advice or legal… [read more]

Please Note: This guide is intended as a reference guide for foster parents (resource parents) providing foster care for children placed in their home by the New Jersey Child Protection and Permanency (DCP&P). It is not intended to offer legal advice or legal guidance. For more information or if you have questions not answered in… [read more]

“A Changing World” represents the most extensive independent research into intercountry adoption to date, including into the regulatory framework/treaty called the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption (HCIA). The research – funded by the American Ireland Fund and the Adoption Institute – was conducted over the past two years by scholars at Tufts University and the… [read more]

This guide shares information about the importance of fathers in the lives of their children, and it identifies potential consequences if they are not involved. It also offers strategies for systems and families, especially those who are involved in systems of care, to help fathers become more involved. Section I discusses statistics about the presence… [read more]

This handbook was created by The Department of Children and Families (DCF) / The Division of Child Protection & Permanency (DCP&P) formerly known as DYFS to help families involved with the DCP&P whose children have been placed in foster care. Families need to know why children have been removed from their parents’ care, what to… [read more]

Adoption in and of itself warrants special knowledge on the part of professionals who assist adoptive families. But as more and more children are past infancy when placed into adoption, the family tasks and challenges become more complex, warranting a highly specialized set of insights and skills for professional success in assisting and treating these… [read more]

The New Jersey Adoption Subsidy Program provides support and assistance to families after their adoption is finalized. Although a caseworker is no longer assigned to your child, your family now has an assigned Subsidy Specialist to assist you with concerns or questions, and obtaining community resources. Your Subsidy Specialist can help with Medicaid, subsidy payments,… [read more]