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Legislature expected to approve on Monday

Legislation sponsored by Assembly Democrats and designed to help improve state investigations of child abuse and neglect allegations was unanimously approved Thursday by the lower house’s Human Services Committee.

The measure (A-4109) was acted on after the committee heard testimony from the federal monitor overseeing the state’s child welfare reform efforts. Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle (D-Bergen) called the hearing in an effort to improve the investigation of child abuse or neglect allegations after the monitor’s December report raised continued concern about the Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS).

“This hearing helped give us a first-hand glimpse of the problems facing DYFS and DCF (the Department of Children and Families) and what needs to be done to finally get on the right course,” Vainieri Huttle said. “The department has certainly made substantial progress in many areas, but unfortunately when it comes to caseloads, visits and work with families the situation appears to be worsening. This is one of the reasons I had adamantly opposed the Governor’s elimination of the child advocate. Leaving a whole class of children far more vulnerable to neglect and abuse is simply not worth the small sum it saved.”

The report, which was the tenth issued since 2006, criticized the state for failing to assess how safe children were in their homes before closing a case, noting that only 25 percent of families were adequately assessed for safety and 35 percent were adequately assessed for risk of harm.

Under the bill, the categories that child protective investigators use to review allegations of child abuse and neglect would be redefined and a new category of “not substantiated” would be reintroduced.

The sponsors said the impetus for their legislation came in large part from a 2008 study by the office of the state Child Advocate and a study earlier this year by Advocates for Children that reported that after the 2004 elimination of the “not substantiated” category, a larger number of cases were ruled unfounded, limiting investigators’ ability to develop an accurate record of potential cases of child abuse.

“Being trapped in an abusive environment can turn a child’s life into a living hell,” Assemblyman Ruben J. Ramos (D-Hudson), a co-sponsor, said. “Simplifying the way DCF decides whether allegations of abuse are legitimate could literally mean the difference between life and death for children suffering at the hands of their abusers.”