Change a Life

In New Jersey, the term Foster Parent has been replaced with Resource Parent. This term more accurately reflects the Resource Parent’s supportive role to the children, the children’s family, and the professional team. The Resource Parent serves a critical role in supporting reunification efforts (the primary goal for most children entering out-of-home care).

 

Thank you for your interest in becoming a resource parent to children and youth in state care. NJ resource parents are essential members of the professional team working collaboratively towards meeting the needs of the child/youth. Our most successful resource parents possess an abundance of patience, empathy, and unwavering commitment to making a difference in a young person’s life.

We need passionate, committed individuals/families like YOU who can offer loving guidance and support to children while their birth family mends. We are actively recruiting Resource Parents who are:

• Racially/culturally sensitive, and open to accepting children from diverse backgrounds

• Open to caring for children who have experienced trauma, and often have increased behavioral/mental health/medical needs

• Open to caring for sibling groups, and maintaining connections with siblings who cannot be placed together

• Willing to care for older youth (13-17) who need caring adults who will help them learn life skills and successfully transition into adulthood

• Open and affirming to LGBTQIA+ children and youth

• Willing to partner with CP&P, courts, the treatment team, community partners, and ideally the child’s family, to support reunification

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. As a result, the state has begun to process only the inquiries of prospective resource families who are willing and able to provide a loving home to the following specialized populations (see the additional note below if you are a Camden county resident):

• Children and youth with complex behavioral health, developmental, and medical needs

• Adolescent youth ages 13-17

• Sibling Groups of 4 or more

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

CP&P will not preclude a person from being a foster parent based solely on their culture, religion, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, affectional orientation, or marital/civil union or domestic partnership status.

NOTE: Due to a critical shortage of resource homes in Camden county, we are expanding our recruitment criteria for that area. Camden county residents are encouraged to complete the inquiry process so they can be connected with a local recruiter who can explain the current needs in more detail.

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

If you have questions regarding the targeted populations, or the process of becoming a licensed resource parent, contact embrella! at: support@embrella.org or 1-800-222-0047.

If you feel that you can care for these specific populations as noted above, please click the link below or use the QR code to complete the New Jersey Department of Children and Families – Resource Family Application.

For those who would like to be assessed as a placement option for your kin, please call the Office of Resource Families at: 609-888-7055. They will assist you with the application process.

This link takes you to the DCF Binti site for the Application.

If you have issues with the application form, Binti’s Support Team is there to help you. The Binti Help Center is available 24/7 with articles and resources on how to use Binti. Monday-Friday, 9AM-10PM Eastern time, Binti also offers US-based live support via chat (the blue button in the bottom right corner of your Binti screen!), email (help@binti.com), and phone (1-844-424-6844).