New Jersey Child Placement Advisory Council CHILDREN IN ...2017 Children In Court Statistics for...

New Jersey

Child Placement Advisory Council

CHILDREN IN COURT STATISTICS

COURT YEAR 2017

JUNE 30, 2016—JULY 1, 2017

New Jersey Child Placement Advisory Council

Court Year 2017

NJ CPAC Executive Board

Voting Members Non-Voting Members

Lila Bernstein Morris County Connie D. Jenkins-Buwa Middlesex County Emerita

Sameerah Lewis-Diabb Middlesex County Darrell L. Armstrong Mercer County Honorary

Ronald Keith England Essex County

Judith Foley Salem County

Angela Harrison Atlantic County

Michael Krasner Union County

Russell Lake † Ocean County

Sandra Wilson Moss Passaic County

William T. Noll Monmouth County

Frank E. Petrucci Essex County

Mary “Twinkie” Polizzi Bergen County

Adele Polomski Ocean County

Susan Rodgers Mercer County

Eunice I. Salton Middlesex County

Lorene S. Wilkerson Middlesex County

This year’s report is dedicated to our friend and

colleague, Russell Lake, who served for many

years as treasurer of the NJ CPAC executive

board and as a member of the Ocean County

CPR board. We will be forever thankful for his

easy smile and giving personality. His unwaver-

ing commitment to children in the wake of losing

his home to Hurricane Sandy will serve as a

constant source of admiration and inspiration.

Chair Lorene S. Wilkerson Middlesex County

Vice Chair Eunice I. Salton Middlesex County

Secretary Susan Rodgers Mercer County

Treasurer Bill Noll, effective 2/2018 Monmouth County

The New Jersey Child Placement Advisory Council (NJ CPAC)

2017 Children In Court Statistics for Court Year 2016 – 2017 1

Letter from the Chair

To the Esteemed Members of the New Jersey Supreme Court, Governor and Legislators:

The New Jersey Child Placement Advisory Council (NJ CPAC) was in a period of reflection and transition during court year 2017 (July 1, 2016 – June 30, 2017), following two years of back-to-back accomplishments:

Completed the revision of the Child Placement Review (CPR) Training Manual and the forms required of CPR boards to complete for review.

Collaborated with the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) to conduct the “Train the Trainer” training of appropriate Children In Court (CIC) staff.

Launched a new website with a new logo.

Testified before the Assembly Women and Children’s Committee and the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee in support of amending the CPR Act of 1978 to change the timing of the first review of a child in placement from 45 days to 60 days.

On Jan. 19, 2017, Governor Chris Christie signed bills A3892 and S2463 into law, changing the timing of the initial review of a child placed out of home from 45 days to 60 days. CIC staff were notified of the change by the AOC and directed to adjust the scheduling of reviews to comport with the new law. By changing the time of the initial review of children placed out of home, CPR board volunteers were able to provide more comprehensive and well-informed recommendations to the court. The AOC also issued a directive to CIC staff to ensure that all CPR board volunteers receive training from the revised CPR training manual. Going forward, these changes will improve results for children in out-of-home placement.

NJ CPAC held its annual training event on April 28, 2017. Understanding & Addressing Child and Adolescent Trauma was an all-day event that featured six workshops covering such topics as the impact of sexual abuse; recognizing trauma in immigrant youth; and caring for children with incarcerated parents. There was also a workshop on the new CPR Initial Review for CPR board volunteers. NJ CPAC was honored to have as its keynote speaker Judge Glenn A. Grant, acting administrative director of the courts.



Amending the CPR Act spurred the board to strengthen and expand its partnerships to help expedite permanency. NJ CPAC envisions the following:

Submitting letters of support to the legislature for bills that have an impact on children.

Engaging with the New Jersey Division of Child Protection and Permanency (DCP&P) to monitor their policies and practices pertaining to placement of children, per the mandate of the CPR Act.

Collaborating with the DCP&P to resolve CPR issues that come to the attention of NJ CPAC.

Supporting the Judiciary in its training efforts by offering an annual workshop in the CPR initial review for CPR board volunteers and court staff.

I continue to be impressed by the commitment of the NJ CPAC executive board, the NJ CPAC coordinator and the AOC to improving the lives of the children in New Jersey.

Lorene S. Wilkerson

Chair, New Jersey Child Placement Advisory Council



CPR Board Statistics for June 30, 2017

Race and ethnicity of CPR board volunteers

Source: VMIS, Aug. 16, 2017

157

62

11

2

8

1

133

46

7

4

19

3

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160

Caucasian

African-American

Hispanic or Latino

Multi-Racial

Not Stated

All Other

2017 2016



CPR board activity by county

County 2017 CPR Board Meetings 2017 CPR Board Reviews

Atlantic 23 168

Bergen 19 132

Burlington 23 195

Camden 64 375

Cape May 7 81

Cumberland 12 186

Essex 23 368

Gloucester 19 155

Hudson 6 132

Hunterdon 4 7

Mercer 15 150

Middlesex 15 136

Monmouth 34 170

Morris 7 32

Ocean 6 192

Passaic 11 82

Salem 11 66

Somerset 5 32

Sussex 12 38

Union 11 95

Warren 23 80

Total 350 2,872

Source: AOC casa8_rpt2.fex. Run 08.10.2017.



Fifteen counties met mandated requirements for CPR board membership.

County

Reviews By CPR Boards

2016

Minimum CPR

Boards Required

2017

Actual CPR

Boards 2017 a

Check if Met

Mandated Minimum

Number of CPR

Boards

Minimum CPR Board Volunteers Required

2017

Actual CPR Board

Volunteers 2017b

Check if Met

Mandated Minimum

Number of CPR

Volunteers

Atlantic 248 2 2 5 9

Bergen 126 1 2 5 13

Burlington 240 2 1 10 14

Camden 382 2 3 10 8

Cape May 38 1 1 5 5

Cumberland 172 1 2 5 9

Essex 447 3 3 15 13

Gloucester 224 2 2 10 5

Hudson 194 1 2 5 6

Hunterdon 30 1 1 5 4

Mercer 204 2 3 10 14

Middlesex 169 1 2 5 15

Monmouth 216 2 4 10 17

Morris 85 1 1 5 5

Ocean 230 2 1 10 7

Passaic 180 1 1 5 6

Salem 60 1 2 5 8

Somerset 23 1 1 5 6

Sussex 28 1 1 5 5

Union 123 1 2 5 7

Warren 26 1 1 5 3

Total 3,445 30 38 155 179

a Data for this column is collected from CPR coordinators at the close of court year 2017. b Data for this column was collected by VMIS Aug. 2017 and provided to NJ CPAC by the Judiciary Office of Management and Administrative Services.



Children in Court Cases

Court statistics for Children and Families 2017 Court Year (July 1, 2016 through June 30, 2017)

Most children entered out-of-home placement for reasons related to parental abandonment and/or inadequate housing.1, 2

A child can enter placement for multiple reasons.

Parent-Related Reason for Placement 2017 Total

Abandonment 833

Abuse/Neglect 441

Death 71

Substance Use Disorder 165

Financial Problems 0

Inadequate Housing 543

Incarceration 415

Mentally Disabled 14

Physically Disabled 4

Surrender of Child 26

Child-Related Reason for Placement 2017 Total

Behavioral Issues 381

Delinquency/FJ Case 13

Disability 37

Drug/Alcohol Abuse 1

Other Reasons 37

Source: AOC casa6_rpt2.fex. Run 8/21/17.

1 Explanation is provided in the DCP&P Notice Of Placement (NOP). 2 The legal definition of abandonment (NJSA: 9:6-8.21(c)(5) includes failure “to care for and keep control and custody of a child so that the child shall be exposed to physical or moral risk without proper and sufficient protection” and failure to “care for and keep the control and custody of a child so that that the child shall be liable to be supported and maintained at the expense of the public.”



Most children entered out-of-home placement at about six-years of age.

A child can enter placement multiple times.

Source: AOC New Filings of FC Dockets. AOC casa9_rpt.fex. Run 8/02/17.

The number of children entering out-of-home placement is declining.

Source: AOC new filings of FC dockets. AOC casa9_rpt.fex. Run 8/02/17.

21%

14%16%

28%

19%

0%0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

Bir

th t

o 1

Yea

r

1 to

2 Y

ears

3 to

5 Y

ears

6 to

12

Yea

rs

13 t

o 1

7 Y

ears

18 Y

ears

an

d O

lder

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

2014 2015 2016 2017

2014 2015 2016 2017



The number of children with active/pending cases declined significantly.

Source: AOC casa3_rpt2.fex. 08.10.2017

The number of children exiting placement decreased.

Source: AOC New filings of FC dockets. AOC casa9_rpt.fex. Run 8/10/17.

8,351

8,097

7,826

7,097

0 2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 10,000

2014

2015

2016

2017

5,435

5,255

5,060

4,828

0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000

2014

2015

2016

2017



All counties saw substantial increases in incoming cases in June 2017. Camden and Essex counties experienced the highest numbers of new and active cases on June 30, 2017.

Point in time snapshot of the status of all cases (FC) by county on June 30, 2017

Source: AOC filing of cases in CIC FC dockets, closing of cases, pending cases. AOC casa9_rpt.fex. Run 8/11/17.

0100200300400500600700800900100011001200130014001500160017001800

War

ren

Un

ion

Suss

ex

Som

ers

et

Sale

m

Pas

saic

Oce

an

Mo

rris

Mo

nm

ou

th

Mid

dle

sex

Me

rce

r

Hu

nte

rdo

n

Hu

dso

n

Glo

uce

ste

r

Esse

x

Cu

mb

erl

and

Cap

e M

ay

Cam

de

n

Bu

rlin

gto

n

Be

rge

n

New Cases Active Cases Closed Cases



Based on 7,091 children ages birth through 21 with active and pending out-of-placement cases, females represented the majority at one-year of age.

Males slightly outnumbered females at age 13.

The majority of adolescents were 18-year-old women.

Source: AOC casa1_rpt2.fex, 8/22/2016/11.39.43

325 110 149 162

309 114 130 151

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Age 1 Age 13 Age 17 Age 18

Female Male



Most children spent approximately two years in out-of-home placement awaiting permanency. The number spending more than five years in placement rose slightly from 2016 despite the increase in the number of children exiting the system.

Source: AOC casa7_rp72.fex 2015, 2016, 2017

14

49

21

17

1,2

35

65

6

28

9

51

0

13

38

20

44

11

88

34

1

34

1 46

1

12

54

18

18

11

16

31

5

31

5

48

1

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

1 Year 2 Years 3 Years 4 Years 5 years More than5 Years

2015 2016 2017



During 2017, the majority of children underwent their first placement. Twenty percent experienced their second.

Court Year

In 1st Placement

In 2nd Placement

In 3rd Placement

In 4th Placement

In 5th Placement

In 6th Placement

In 7th Placement

In 8th Placement

2014 6,165 1,691 360 97 24 9 4 0

2015 6,015 1,597 359 85 28 7 4 0

2016 5,839 1,491 385 80 28 3 2 0

2017 5,160 1,429 382 89 25 0 4 0

Source: AOC casa5_rpt2. Run 09/06/2017.

Camden County saw the most children undergoing third, fourth or fifth placements. Cumberland County experienced the second highest level of fourth-time placements. County In Third

Placement In Fourth Placement

In Fifth Placement

In Seventh Placement

Total

Atlantic 16 5 2 0 23

Bergen 4 2 3 0 9

Burlington 26 2 0 0 28

Camden 66 24 7 0 97

Cape May 9 3 2 0 14

Cumberland 28 15 0 1 44

Essex 38 4 1 0 43

Gloucester 18 9 2 2 31

Hudson 27 1 0 0 28

Hunterdon 2 5 0 0 7

Mercer 20 8 2 0 30

Middlesex 23 4 0 1 28

Monmouth 30 4 3 0 37

Morris 4 1 2 0 7

0cean 16 0 0 0 16

Passaic 23 3 0 0 26

Salem 12 2 0 0 14

Somerset 4 1 0 0 4

Sussex 2 0 0 0 2

Union 6 1 1 0 8

Warren 6 0 0 0 6

Source: AOC casa7_rpt 72.fex 09/06/2017.



Most children in out-of-home placements either were returned home or adopted.

Reasons why CIC cases were closed

Reason Case Closed CY 2017 Cases Closed %

Of Total Cases

Child Reached 18 282 5

Child Died 5 0

Adoption Finalized 1,134 23

Placement with Relative Finalized 327 7

Placement with Friend Finalized 15 0

Child Entered Military 2 0

Child got Married 0 0

Child Under Division of Developmental Disabilities

4 0

Child in Mental Health Facility 1 0

Child Returned Home 2,690 55

Kinship Legal Guardianship Granted 194 4

Child Missing 15 0

Child Transferred to Care Maintenance Organization

18 0

Other 107 2

Child Transferred to Another County 94 2

Child Transferred to Another State 2 0

Total Cases Closed 4,890

Source: AOC MSFCFT. 09/08/2017

New Jersey

Child Placement Advisory Council

Administrative Office of the Courts

Richard J. Hughes Justice Complex

P.O. Box 983

Trenton, NJ 08625-0983

609-633-2581

www.njcpac.org

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