Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) young people are in America’s child welfare and juvenile justice systems in disproportionate numbers. Like all young people in care, they have the right to be safe and protected. All too often, however, they are misunderstood and mistreated, leading to an increased risk of negative outcomes. This tool… [read more]

GrandFacts A State Fact Sheets for Grandparent and Other Relatives Raising Children The data presented in these graphics is from the United States Census Bureau, the Annie E. Casey Foundation Kids Count Data Center and the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis Reporting System (AFCARS). For more information on kinship care and caregivers, and for detailed… [read more]

GrandFacts National Fact Sheets for Grandparents and Other Relatives Raising Children AARP, The Brookdale Foundation Group, Casey Family Programs, Child Welfare League of America, Children’s Defense Fund, and Generations United have partnered to produce state and national GrandFacts fact sheets for grandparents and other relatives raising children. The state fact sheets include state-specific data and… [read more]

Every State, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands have statutes providing for the termination of parental rights by a court. Termination of parental rights ends the legal parent-child relationship. Once the relationship has been terminated, the child is legally free to be placed… [read more]

Attaining legal permanence is not always about finding a new family. In some instances, it is about legally re-defining roles of existing family members or establishing legal relationships with other adults who have a family-like relationship with children through guardianship. Although different from adoption, the adjustment to these newly defined responsibilities can be just as… [read more]

Guide To Kinship Legal Guardianship Support Services Publication of New Jersey Department of Children and Families Office of Adoption Operations Kinship Legal Guardianship Subsidy Program

Health care is a basic necessity for all children and youth. Children and youth who enter foster care because of abuse or neglect often have significant health-care needs. Changes in the nation’s health-care laws have increased access to and affordability of health care for some of our most vulnerable children and youth—those involved with child… [read more]

The purpose of this guide is to support adoptive and foster families by strengthening the abilities of pediatricians to: 1) identify traumatized children, 2) educate families about toxic stress and the possible biological, behavioral, and social manifestations of early childhood trauma, and 3) empower families to respond to their child’s behavior in a manner that… [read more]

This New Jersey guide serves as a useful tool to assist you through the transition into adulthood. The information in this guide outlines resources as well as people who are available and willing to help you plan for your future. Ultimately, we want you to reach adulthood successfully!