Dear lydiam-ga;
Thank you for allowing me an opportunity to answer your interesting
question.
As you already know the state of New Jersey favors kinship caregivers
in their Department of Youth and Family Services foster care program.
Whenever feasible, efforts are made to keep a distressed family
together, or at very least, to place a child with as near a blood
relative as possible rather than utilize an out-of-family caregiver.
Kinship Legal Guardianship (NJ Stat. Ann. § 3B: 12A-2)
You can read more about the requirements for such an arrangement here:
LSNJ KEY DEVELOPMENTS
http://www.lsnj.org/keyRecentDevelopments/KinshipLegalGuardianship2.htm
(You will note that the assessment for eligibility is conducted for
the DYFS by an outside agency.)
“Petitions for kinship legal guardianship must be filed with a kinship
caregiver assessment, which must be done in advance of filing. The
assessment will be conducted by an independent agency for non-DYFS
cases and by DYFS for its own cases.”
Having spent the past 20+ years in law enforcement, I can tell you
that a bank robbery conviction from 1975 is certainly still on your
record and will remain so for the span of your lifetime unless you
receive a pardon. For DYFS purposes (and indeed other purposes) there
is no “statute of limitations” on how long a conviction can be
considered in a background check, even though you have no later
convictions or current obligations to the state's judicial system. A
conviction for a serious offense of this nature will preclude you from
a number of rights you might have otherwise enjoyed in your life, but
such is the nature of our legal system in response to the sometimes
regrettable choices we make. In the interest of the child, the state
of New Jersey does consider the seriousness of this type of crime when
making its assessement, selection and/or approval of a kinship
caregiver. Undoubtedly, the manner in which the offense occurred and
whether or not violence was used or threatened would be factors in the
decision. Unfortunately, in your case the state may have opted to
reject your request based not only on the conviction from your past
but upon the details of the incident itself, which it has the right to
do according to NJDYFS policies.
Having said that there may be some possible options for you. In some
instances the state has been known to make certain exemptions in the
licensing requirements for kinship caregivers. You can find out more
about this possibility by calling:
Donna Younkin, Assistant Director, Department of Human Services,
Division of Youth and Family Services, Office of Program Support and
Permanency, at (609) 292-3035 or dyounkin@dhs.state.nj.us
Or
Cara Goldstein, Generations United, at (202) 638-1263 or
cgoldstein@gu.org
The AARP also offers a grandparent support group where you might make
some inquiries of those who have been in similar circumstances:
AARP – GRANDPARENT SUPPORT
http://www.aarp.org/grandparents/searchsupport/
The Atlantic County Grandparents Raising Children Initiative at the
Uptown Family Center also provides a support group, counseling and
legal services for kinship care families in the Atlantic County area.
Contact: Rosalind Norrell-Nance, Director, Uptown Family Center, at
(609) 345-1994 or liznn@aol.com . Perhaps some inquires here might
result in some answers to many of your legal questions which could
lead to to other options and potential recourse or appeal (since this
forum is prohibited from giving legal advice of the kind you probably
need in this situation).
Another potential source for information concerning options to this
decision is RUTGERS COOPERATIVE EXTENSION’S GRANDPARENTS RAISING
GRANDCHILDREN PROGRAM. Contact:Marilou Rochford, Associate Professor,
Rutgers University, at (609) 465-5115 or rochford@aesop.rutgers.edu .
I wish you and your family luck in this difficult moment in your
lives. I hope you find that that my research exceeds your
expectations. If you have any questions about my research please post
a clarification request prior to rating the answer. I welcome your
rating and your final comments and I look forward to working with you
again in the near future. Thank you for bringing your question to us.
Best regards;
Tutuzdad-ga
INFORMATION SOURCES
NEW JERSEY – GRANDPARENTS AND OTHER RELATIVES RAISING CHILDREN
.pdf http://research.aarp.org/general/kinship_care_nj.pdf
or html http://216.239.39.104/search?q=cache:I3IlYABf9FcJ:research.aarp.org/general/kinship_care_nj.pdf+%22new+jersey%22+kinship+requirements+caregivers&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
GENERATIONS UNITED
http://www.gu.org/
GRANDSPLACE
http://www.grandsplace.com/
LSNJ KEY DEVELOPMENTS
http://www.lsnj.org/keyRecentDevelopments/KinshipLegalGuardianship2.htm
Other non-internet based resources are defined above.
SEARCH STRATEGY
SEARCH ENGINE USED:
Google ://www.google.com
SEARCH TERMS USED:
“New Jersey” kinship caregivers
“New Jersey” foster caregivers
“New Jersey” licensing kinship caregivers
“New Jersey” requirements kinship caregivers
“New Jersey” background kinship caregivers
“New Jersey” exemptions kinship caregivers
“New Jersey” Kinship Legal Guardianship
“New Jersey” Kinship assessment |
