Change a Life

Thank you for your interest in learning how to become a resource parent for children and youth in state care. In New Jersey, the number of youth in foster care continues to be reduced each year due to a focus on services that strengthen and assist families to prevent abuse and neglect, and the prioritization of kinship care when out of home placement is required. This has afforded the Department of Children and Families (DCF) the opportunity to reevaluate the capacity of its current pool of resource families and their ability to meet the unique needs of special populations of youth in care.

As a result, DCF has begun to process only the inquiries of prospective resource families who are willing and able to provide a loving home to the following:

· Children and youth with complex behavioral, developmental, and medical needs

· Adolescent youth ages 13-17

· Sibling Groups of 4 or more

· NJ children and youth who are currently cleared for adoption have unique needs and include characteristics of the other 3 specialized populations described above

Are you curious as to why NJ and the rest of the country is prioritizing kinship care? Watch the video below.

If you feel that you can care for these specific populations as noted above, please complete our inquiry form below to be registered to attend a New Jersey Child Protection and Permanency Group Engagement. There, you will receive more specific information about the Resource Family program.