child advocacy association of New Jersey

CAANJ

an initiative of Miriam's Heart

Presentation Outline

Topics to Tackle

• About Miriam's Heart
• About CAANJ
• Pending Bills
• Long Term goals
• Our Team/Contact
• Contact NJ legislators

#CAANJ #MiriamsHeart

About

Miriam's Heart radically supports children who were adopted or in foster care and their families

#CAANJ  #MiriamsHeart

CAANJ

Child advocacy association of NJ

CAANJ is an initiative of Miriam's Heart. CAANJ believes that children have a right to live safely in their homes and communities. Using the following principles:

• Evidence-Based Practices
  
• Protecting the rights of children
• Permanency
• Resilience
• Permanent and safe families
• Best Interest
• Attachment
• Prevention, Identification and Early Detection
  

CAANJ is an initiative of Miriam's Heart

Pending Legislation

CAANJ is engaging in state and federal conversations to discuss our commitment to children living safely in their homes and communities

Proposed Legislation

CAANJ is drafting legislation alongside state and federal leaders to help raise awareness of changes that could have a huge impact

CAANJ is an initiative of Miriam's Heart

Concerning trends

• Foster families not receiving notices about court hearings (which is already required by law)
  
• Huge delays for termination of parental rights trials (supposed to be scheduled within 15 months of placement, but kids have been in placement for years and judges are refusing to schedule trials as they would only be able to schedule them a year or more out.)
  

CAANJ is an initiative of Miriam's Heart

A3341

A3341: Requires resource family parent, relative, preadoptive parent, or caretaker to be party to reviews or hearings involving a child under the Division of Child Protection and Permanency in the Department of Children and Families’ care. https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/bill- search/2022/A3341  

S2171

S2171: Clarifies best interests of the child should be primary consideration in actions undertaken by State governmental entities and courts of law. Sponsored by Senator Joe Vitale. https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/bill-search/2022/S1087. Not sure why this bill was reintroduced, because the same exact version was signed into law in 2016: https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/bill-search/2014/S3242

A2249

A2249: Establishes Office of Child Advocate. Sponsored by Assemblywoman Murphy https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/bill-search/2022/A2249.

A2253

A2253: Increases the frequency of permanency hearing from every 12 months to every six months. Was sponsored by Assemblywoman Murphy. https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/bill- search/2022/A2253 THIS WAS OUR BILL. We lobbied for this bill. This was passed by the Senate last year but with huge modifications that essentially gutted it and it didn’t go anywhere in the Assembly.

CAANJ is an initiative of Miriam's Heart

Goals

• strengthening the relative search when a child is first put in placement;
• having permanency hearings more often after the first permanency hearing;
• passing a NJ Foster Parent Bill of Rights;
• Allowing resource parents to be considered "kin" for placement and adoption purposes after a certain period of time that the child has stayed with that resource family. Resource parents are considered kin with regard to kinship legal guardianship (KLG) but not for placement and adoption purposes.  
• allowing the resource parents to become a party to the case after a certain period of time
• creating an Office of the Child Advocate (also a current bill by Assemblywoman Murphy) - or even more ideally, an Ombudsman who is not part of the Department of Children and Families
• Pushing for clear pathway to open adoptions

CAANJ is an initiative of Miriam's Heart

Next Steps

Join CAANJ by visiting MiriamsHeart.org/caanj

Call and email your legislators

Give directly in support of CAANJ and ensure that children are safe in their homes and communities

CAANJ is an initiative of Miriam's Heart