RESPONDENT: Betty Berzin, Assistant Director - Adoption Program Director
New Jersey Department of Children & Families, Division of Child Protection & Permanency
I. General Information (Background on State Service System)
County-based vs. statewide system
New Jersey’s system is state-administered and state-supervised program. Adoption services are delivered through 46 local offices covering the 21 counties in New Jersey.
Uniformity of services across the state
The state adoption program is licensed and therefore must meet certain standard adoption agency regulations. Services are fairly uniform. Although policy comes out of Central Office Adoption Operations, the practice occurs locally. There is ongoing and regular oversight and consultation provided to the field by central office staff in order to maintain the integrity of the program. Post- adoption services are delivered through Post-Adoption Counseling Services (PACS) contracts with 12 private agencies throughout the state. The services provided include a group of core services as stated section by section below. These services are funded by the state and are offered free of charge to the families. PACS agencies in some areas may offer additional services, but all the agencies are obligated to offer at least the core services.
Children on subsidy as of June 30, 2013
At the end of June 2013, 13,875 children were receiving adoption subsidy in New Jersey.
Are public child welfare adoption workers expected to provide post-adoption services?
New Jersey’s Central Office Adoption Operations houses the Adoption Subsidy program. These adoption subsidy workers primarily handle any fiscal issues involved with the adoption subsidy. At times they are able to assist adoptive families with limited emergency funds or referral information. The therapeutic post-adoption services are provided by the 12 private agencies which have PACS contracts with the state. These private agencies are located throughout the state covering various counties. Post-adoption services are primarily accessed by self-referral.
II. Post-Adoption Services Funded by the State for Adoptive Families Information and Referral
These services are offered to all families with legally adopted children, regardless of the placement source. Even before adoption and upon legalization, families adopting from the state child welfare agency receive information to familiarize them with the array of available community and state services. The state-funded New Jersey Adoption Resource Clearing House (NJARCH) is a source for current information for professionals and parents on all things adoption-related, including support groups, conferences, workshops and recreational events, therapeutic services and providers, etc. NJARCH also operates a warm line and a lending library. For more information, see: http://www.njarch.org/.
Educational Programs or Materials
In addition to the educational materials and programs publicized through NJARCH, the state has begun to provide cross-training to the state’s Children’s System of Care on adoption issues, and it funds the 45-hour Adoption Clinical Certificate program through the community providers to increase the number of adoption-competent therapists in the state. Local Family Success Centers, which are state funded and
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operated by parent-run boards, also offer trainings in a wide variety of topics of interest and assistance to any family.
Support Programs
A core component of service provided by the PACS agencies is support groups for parents and for youth. In addition, the state has begun to schedule “Meet & Greet” events in several areas for families who have adopted to re-familiarize them with available services and the staff who provide them as well as to connect these families with other adoptive families in their area. Also, Family Success Centers provide supportive services, including support groups, to any local family.
Therapeutic Interventions
The major service that all PACS agencies provide is in-home family stabilization, assessment and counseling. PACS clinicians working with families must hold an Adoption Clinical Certificate. All services are provided free of charge and are attachment-based, family-focused therapeutic interventions. Over the years, these interventions have expanded to incorporate a trauma-focused approach. A family may work with their agency for six to nine months at a time, off-and-on as needed, until the child reaches the age of 21. PACS counseling is not a substitute for intense crisis work, psychiatric care, medication management or long-term mental health treatment.
Advocacy
PACS providers generally support adoptive families in educational advocacy for their child. There also are a number of private organizations made up of individuals who also provide support, advocacy and educational opportunities to adoptive families throughout the state. One such group is the “Concerned Persons for Adoption” which sponsors a major adoption conference each year that is open to individuals, families, educators and other professionals in the adoption field.
Respite
Respite is not available through the Department’s post-adoption service program. Some private agencies may provide some respite.
Residential Treatment
Does the state pay for residential treatment for children adopted from foster care? What is the process for obtaining this?
Residential care is not covered through the subsidy. Adoptive families use the toll free number as the single entry point into the Children’s System of Care, just as any family needing mental health services would. Screening and referral are done through this system.
If yes, what is required to obtain this?
Please see above.
Does the child have to re-enter state custody?
No.
Search Services
The Department’s centralized Office of Adoption Operations houses the Adoption Registry. The Registry is made up of three staff who are able to provide limited search information to adult adoptees or adoptive parents on behalf of their minor children; in a few cases, staff may facilitate reunions.
III. Qualifications for Post-Adoption Services
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Donaldson Adoption Institute 147
B. Under what circumstances, if any, are these services provided to children who were not adopted through the state system?
Services are available to any adoptive family in the state.
IV. Support for Post-Adoption Services
A. What is the total annual budget for post-adoption services (excluding Adoption Assistance)?
Approximately $3,850,000.
B. What are the primary sources of funding for post-adoption services? (Please order from 1=top funding source to the source that the lowest amount of funds is used.)
Title IV-B, Part 1, Child Welfare Services 2
Title IV-B, Part 2, Promoting Safe and Stable Families for “Adoption Support & Promotion"
Title IV-B, Part 2, Promoting Safe and Stable Families from categories other than adoption
Adoption Incentive Funds
Early Periodic Screening and Diagnostic Testing Title XX, Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) Title IV-A, TANFF
Federal grants such as Adoption Opportunities
Other federal funds-specify: ________________________________________ 1 State child welfare funds
Other state funds-specify: __________________________________________
C. Which, if any, of these services is legally stipulated in state law? If any post-adoption services are included in state law, please describe:
None of the services are mandated by law.
D. Have there been significant cutbacks in post-adoption services or adoption subsidies in the state in the past 10 years? If so, please describe:
Adoption subsidies have received cost-of-living increases; no additional funds or cost-of-living increases have been added to the PACS contracts in a number of years.
V. In your state, are there noteworthy practice models or research reports related to adoption support and preservation that you could share with us?
A. Please describe practice models:
As a model, Post-Adoption Counseling Services (PACS) are devoted to three core services: (1) in-home therapeutic services for adoptive families, (2) child therapy and family counseling, and (3) behavioral supports to adoptive families. Given their special expertise, PAC clinicians recognize that adequate support is especially critical in special needs adoption where the challenges faced by families can be both immediate and intense. Therapeutic service is geared to normalizing the adoption experience, decreasing family isolation by creating opportunities to connect with others in similar circumstances, and helping adoptive families increase parent- child attachment. The availability of episodic adoption-competent clinical services delivered in families’ homes through age 21 (18 for guardianship) through the public-private contract system has been working well for many years. Normalizing the need for assistance throughout the adoption journey encourages early intervention, which clearly promotes permanency; and the state mission of increasing the adoption competency of state mental health and other
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workers as well as private practitioners can only help adoptive families as they interact with community resources in times of need.
B. Significant findings of program evaluations or other post-adoption studies conducted in the State in the past 10 years:
Not at this time.
C. Contact persons who could give us more information about noteworthy practice models or research and their phone number:
Contact Betty Berzin, Adoption Program Director, at 609-888-7460.
VI. Please share any strategies that you have used to successfully advocate for post-adoption services in your state.
New Jersey has a long history of recognizing and supporting the unique needs of adoptive families. During the Adoption Program Director’s current tenure, she has been able to continue the legacy of responding to the needs of adoptive families through its model system of service delivery and move it forward, thanks in large part to the support and commitment of the Department and Division’s administration, as well as ongoing advocacy on the part of New Jersey adoptive families themselves.
VII. Research on tracking post-adoption instability: