Blog

The parties to the case include the parent(s) of the child and the DCP&P. These types of cases are adversarial.

The DCP&P doesn’t necessarily have to prove anything in a court of law before removing a child from the home. The agency has the authority to make emergency removals.

All parents have a right to an attorney when facing child welfare proceedings, including Title 9 and Title 30 proceedings and child abuse/neglect defense.

While the DCP&P can get the authority to remove your child from the home temporarily, it can also provide struggling families with valuable services they need.

The Child Placement Review Board is a board of court-appointed volunteers who monitor child welfare placements. The Review Board becomes involved whenever the Division of Child Protection and Permanency (DCP&P), New Jersey’s child welfare agency, places a child outside of his or her home.

Case plans are required whenever a child is placed out of his or her home, be it with a resource family (i.e. foster family), a relative or other kinship caregiver, or a residential treatment program.

Records of child welfare investigations including child abuse reports, reports of findings and information obtained during child abuse investigations are imperative.

State child welfare agencies that receive federal funds are mandated by the federal government to consider preferentially placing a child with an adult relative as opposed to a nonrelative caregiver.

Children need to know their parents love them, especially while they are in foster placement. Thus, when caseworkers make visitation difficult, they are harming both the parent and the child.