A tentative plan to end nearly two decades of court-ordered supervision for New Jersey’s child welfare system in 2023 is finally gaining momentum after stalling for eight months in the state Legislature.
On Monday, the state Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee unanimously approved a bill that that would boost the authority of a little-known panel to ensure the state Department of Children and Families maintains the level of staffing, training and technological improvement that were mandated by the longstanding court decree.
The bill (S2395) still needs to pass the full 80-member state Assembly and 40-member Senate before the end of the year before Gov. Phil Murphy can decide whether to sign it into law.
Marcia Robinson Lowry, executive director of A Better Childhood, the nonprofit that sued the state to improve the system on behalf of foster children, has said she won’t agree to end the federal court oversight of the department until the bill passes.
In March, state Children and Families Commissioner Christine Norbut Beyer, the court monitor Judith Meltzer and Robinson Lowry, agreed the state agency — responsible for investigating child abuse — had vastly improved and was among the best run in the nation. In order to maintain the changes, they agreed the Staffing and Oversight Review Committee, an obscure subcommittee of the New Jersey Task Force on Child Abuse and Neglect, would provide some limited supervision and produce an annual report of its findings.
The three most powerful leaders in the Legislature even sponsored the bill — Senate President Nicholas Scutari, D-Union, Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, D-Middlesex and Senate Majority Leader Teresa Ruiz, D-Essex.
Yet it took behind-the-scenes cajoling from the Murphy administration and Robinson Lowry’s threat to walk away from negotiations in October for the bill to be scheduled for the required public hearings. Coughlin and Scutari said they needed time to consult with experts.
The Assembly Human Services Committee approved the bill by an 8-0 vote on Oct. 17. A week after Robinson Lowry’s ultimatum, the bill passed the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee on Oct. 31, followed by a hearing in the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee Monday.
Assistant Commissioner Katherine L. Stoehr urged the committee in Trenton to act soon.
“If we let this moment lapse, we may not get another opportunity in the near future,” Stoehr said. “It is not hyperbole to say it will jeopardize our ability to exit federal oversight.”
According to the bill, the 16-member Staffing and Oversight Review Committee will be expected to evaluate the division’s overall performance, including whether front-line workers oversee no more than 15 cases at once.
In 2003, when then-Gov. Jim McGreevey’s administration agreed to settle a lawsuit accusing the state of running a system that harmed more than it helped children, the average caseload was 42, but 50 or 60 cases was not unheard of, Stoehr said.
“Today’s DCF is agile, data driven and self monitoring,” she said.
Several child advocacy organizations urged the Senators to give the committee broader authority.
Alexis Pollock from the Office of the Law Guardian, which represents thousands of children and young adults involved with the child welfare system, said a member of the Law Guardian’s staff should have a permanent seat on the review committee. Mary Coogan from the nonprofit Advocates for Children of New Jersey said the bill should specify the committee should participate in the department’s internal quality review process.
Sen. Paul Sarlo, D-Bergen, said amending the bill at this stage would only delay its passage.
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Susan K. Livio may be reached at slivio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanKLivio.
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