As foster care goes, kinship is a better option

Trenton, N.J.: I am writing in response to the commentary “The conundrum of child kinship care” (op-ed, Dec. 13) and false assertions made regarding New Jersey’s child welfare system. The author, Naomi Schaefer Riley, suggested that the state was engaged in a campaign to divert children from entering the foster care system by placing them in informal, unlicensed homes with extended family members, a “shadow child welfare system.”

Riley mischaracterizes our efforts to place children in safe, stable and familiar environments. In New Jersey, kinship homes are licensed foster homes. We not only track these children and placements but provide services to assist with reunification and other forms of permanency. Kinship caregivers receive support and training, including a monthly stipend to support the care of the child.

In reviewing the last several years of data, there is nothing to suggest that kinship placements are less safe or less supportive than traditional foster care. Rates of placement stability and permanency within 24 months were comparable to, or slightly above, those of traditional foster care homes. Rates of system re-entry or repeat maltreatment following reunification were comparable to, or slightly below, those for traditional foster care homes.

The practice of child welfare is an evolving one, and as we learn more and know better, we are adjusting our policies and practices accordingly. By incorporating a focus on kinship care into our practice, we can safely meet the needs of the child while reducing the trauma associated with removal from their home by engaging the extended family and close family friends who can provide familiarity, support and love needed for a successful, and temporary, placement.

Christine Norbut Beyer, commissioner New Jersey Department of Children and Families