New Jersey Department of Children and Families (DCF)

The Department of Children and Families is New Jersey’s state child welfare agency. DCF , staffed by approximately 7,000 employees, encompasses:

•Youth and Family Services •Child Behavioral Health Services •Prevention and Community Partnerships •Specialized Education Services •Child Welfare Training Academy •Centralized Child Abuse/Neglect Hotline

DCF is focused on strengthening families and achieving: safety, well-being and permanency for all New Jersey's children. DCF strives to incorporate the best thinking of New Jersey stakeholders and frontline workers and supervisors to achieve positive results and improvements to the state's child welfare system. Current priorities focus on reducing caseloads, developing a trained workforce, managing outcomes by data, and recruiting more safe and loving foster homes for our most vulnerable children.

In addition to focusing on the fundamentals of child welfare, DCF has also embarked on several important initiatives, including: rebuilding specialized adoption practice, building a robust network of support in our local communities, re-engineering child abuse prevention, building capacity in the child behavioral health system, and improving the system of health care for children in the state's care.